Unforeseen Attraction
by Kietah-chan
Summary: True love just isn't striking the hearts of the teens in High School. Crushes lead to fights and friendship leads to hatred . . .and nothing is quite like a fairytale. How can Kairi cope when two guys fight over her? Will true love find its' way?
1. Trips and Distractions

Unforeseen Attraction

By: Kietah-chan

A/N: WOO! It's been so long since I wrote a Fanfic! It feels like forever! So . . .I started this one! Yay! Ok, I know some people have been asking me if I wrote this one fic called "Fatal Attraction" which, according to them, sounds almost exactly like "Torn Between Two" . . .well, I didn't. Sorry to disappoint y'all. Now, if that little bit of truth gets you to stop reading this, go to hell. grins sweetly ok, this fic is a little bit different than my others, and see if you can predict who will fall in love with who! (it's not who you think it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, it's not gonna be THAT obvious!) ok, here ya go!

Disclaimer: I do no not own anything except for my pathetic life . . .

Ch. 1: Trips and Disasters 

Kairi's POV:

Outside, it was a bright and sunny spring day. The deep sky was the clearest of blue with not a single trace of a cloud to be seen. The bright sun shone down upon the grassy fields of light green and colourful flowers dotting the landscape. Every now and then, a happy and carefree bird flitted by; free from any kind of restraint or bondage. It was a beautiful day . . .

. . .Then again . . .I was inside on this lovely day. I was cooped up in this air-conditioned prison of cement and brick. Some people would call this prison, or torture, but I call this . . ."school".

I sighed quietly from boredom and painfully tore my eyes away from the small window beside my desk. I resumed my half-conscious gaze onto Miss. Rhydayah, my English teacher. She was droning on about something I really didn't care about . . .something about pronouns . . .It's not that she's a boring teacher, it's just that she gets too into her lectures and you lose interest in the lesson after 10 minutes.

As soon as the bell signaling the end of 5th period sounded, I jumped up, grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder, and hurried over to the door to join the rest of class exiting.

Once out of the classroom, Selphie ran up to join me, her hair bouncing with each step.

"Kairi! How was English?" she asked me excitedly as soon as she reached me.

"Man, I dunno how you stay so perky in school . . ." I said in amazement, shaking my head. "The same old boring-ness. But now we have gym!" I exclaimed happily, clapping my hands together in joy.

Selphie looked at me strangely. "You aint ever gonna get over him, are you?"

"Nope!" I declared and smiled wide with my teeth. Selphie shook her head in exasperation.

We finally reached the girl's locker room (which the walk ALWAYS seems to take FOREVER!) and opened the heavy door. Inside already were Yuna, Aerith, and Rikku already changing. When they saw us come in, they all smiled and waved. Rikku, however, ran towards me and jumped up and down happily.

"Oh my God, Kairi! I just heard that Riku has a crush! Oh my God! I can't believe it! So you think it's me? I hope it is!!" she spilled out rather quickly and squealed with delight.

"He does? Yay! Well, from what I've known, he likes practically every girl in this school that has boobs and an ass," I said matter-of-factly. "But we all have a chance, though," I assured quickly to a flat-chested freshman standing nearby, listening in on our conversation. She smiled in a giddy sort of way and turned to leave the locker room.

I changed out of my school uniform of a short blue skirt and a white short-sleeved top and into my gym uniform as quickly as possible. I rushed over to the mirror to check out my hair.

"Kairi . . .your socks?" I heard Yuna call to me as I was about to walk out of the locker room door. I paused for a moment and looked down. I was in such a rush that I had forgotten to take off my white knee-high socks. I chuckled softly and went back to the lockers.

Our gym instructor, Mrs. Syra, blew her whistle signaling the beginning of our stations. When I heard the whistle, I sprinted over to the long rope hanging from the ceiling with Selphie at my side. Aerith, being one of the advisors (cuz she's a senior and we're mostly juniors), spotted each of us as we climbed to the top of he rope.

After Selphie had gotten down gracefully, it was then my turn. I stepped onto the platform and grabbed hold of the strong rope. I entwined my left leg around the bottom and pulled myself upwards.

I had never had trouble with the rope before. It always came easy to me ever since I was a kid. I was doing pretty well, and I could feel my muscles in my arms straining to pull me further and further up the stupid thing.

I was just about to reach the top when I heard a whistling coming from the ground. At first, I thought it was Mrs. Syra or Aerith signaling something, so I looked down and to my shock and horror, I saw . . ._him_.

Riku was just doing some stretches along with the other boys before they ran. He was looking up in my direction, but it was kind of hard to tell if his gaze was locked on me or not, because of his silver tresses hanging gorgeously in front of his eyes.

"Lookin' good up there from this angle!" he called in a sly sort of way as some of the other guys chuckled along. No way . . .he can't be _looking_ at me! No way! I heard Rikku (A/N: the girl, dufuses….XD) make some odd noise from somewhere between a laugh and a whine.

"Man, when you look at her this way, she sure looks _different_, don't ya think?" Riku asked Tidus loud enough so that I could obviously hear. Tidus didn't even seem to acknowledge the question, but was so busy staring at Yuna who was on the balance beam, that he was starting to tie his shoelaces together.

Riku whistled again and that did it for me. For about the past 3 minutes, I was barely hanging on, but now the blush in my face had gotten so extreme, I let go of the rope and fell to the mat with a small scream.

As soon as I landed, I was swarmed with my classmates asking me if I was okay. I nodded them all away with the deep rouge still visible on my cheeks.

I got up awkwardly and looked over at Riku who was getting a lecture from Aerith about something like "distracting others while climbing". The whole scene was rather a hilarity, because they're both in the same grade, which made it look odd.

"You o.k, Kai?" Selphie asked me when I looked away and my blush finally disappeared.

"Yea . . .I just got . . .distracted . . ." I said uncertainly as we walked away from the rope to the tumbling mat.

Sora's POV:

I had seen the whole thing. I stopped running when I saw Kairi let go of the rope and fall to the mat. I was close enough to catch her or at least break her fall, but something stupid and annoying was holding me back. Riku, my best friend, is such an asshole sometimes.

I don't even know why Kairi likes him . . .

I started running again as I neared where Selphie and Kairi were waiting in line for cartwheels, I purposely stopped and pretended to fuss with my shoelaces. I sat down with my back against a wall and slowly tied my laces while concentrating hard to hear what they were saying.

" . . .I'm sure it was just an accident . . ." I heard Selphie say assuredly to Kairi. Kairi didn't reply, but pulled her right leg behind her in a stretch.

"Oh well . . .you're hopeless . . ." Selphie sighed, shaking her head, and doing a stretch also. "But, hey! I think I know who Riku now has a crush on . . .ahem ahem!!" she pushed, nudging Kairi in the ribs. Kairi rolled her eyes.

"Puh-leeze, Selph! Riku likes EVERY girl in this school! Especially the blonde bimbos . . ." Kairi muttered under her breath angrily.

"Blondes? You mean Riku likes Rikku?" Selphie asked in her amazement. Kairi looked thoroughly confused by all the "Riku/Rikku's". Selphie's eyes traveled over to Rikku (a senior also) spotting little Selena doing a handstand.

Kairi sighed and ran onto the mat and did two graceful roundoffs.

The conversation was losing its juice and by now, I had tied, untied, re-tied, untied and re-tied my shoelaces.

"Sora! Get running!" Squall (another senior advisor) shouted over at me. I looked up and nodded at him. With a last glance over at Kairi, I stood to my feet and started to run around the gym again.

Kairi's POV:

When the 10 minute bell finally rang telling the gym students to go get changed, Selphie and I gratefully marched out of the gym and back into the locker rooms. When we had walked through the door, Selphie turned to me; excitement and hope covering her face.

"Oh my God! I think Tidus looked at me just now!" she whispered, making sure no one else could hear.

"Selph, he doesn't like you! He has a extreme crush on Yuna!" I said sternly to her as I pulled off my sweaty gym shirt. Selphie pulled her lips together in a pout.

"Someday, he will be mine!!" she declared too loudly, then laughed in a maniacal sort of way, standing on the locker-room bench. Everybody turned to look at her, confusion and utter stunn-ness on their faces.

I sighed. She's really obsessed with Tidus . . .

"Who will be yours? You better not be thinking about Riku, cuz he's mine already! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Rikku laughed evilly. I could feel a jealous prong stab into my chest when she said that. Everybody now turned to look at Rikku.

Yuna stayed quiet the whole time. She had learned just last year that Selphie had a crush on her crush. Tidus obviously doesn't know yet, though. She's afraid that Selphie will take him away from her, so she stays quiet about the whole thing. Well, that was what she told me anyways . . .

Sora's POV:

"Hey, Kairi!" I heard someone call out to her, who had just walked by. I turned around from my locker and saw, to my horror and disgust, Riku standing in front of Kairi.

Everything inside of me was telling me to pretend to have to tell him something really important, just to get him away from her by any means possible. I could even purposely trip and fall in between them to distract her/him.

That idea sounded mildly good.

I started to walk towards them and spotted an innocent and unsuspecting trashcan (A/N: LMAO) on the wall next to the two of them. I almost smiled on the outside on how great this was going to go.

"So, hey, I'm sorry about what happened in gym today . . .you okay?" Riku asked her, slowly sneaking an arm around her waist. Kairi looked completely uncomfortable. Her face was a dark rouge and she wouldn't look at him. She mangaged a tiny nod, though.

I was right beside the stupid trash can when suddenly, without warning, Riku took a step backwards and my foot caught his. I tumbled forwards as he fell back. I ended up catching myself before I hit ground by throwing my hands out in front of me and closing my eyes tightly, bracing for impact.

"Umm . . .hello . . ." a quiet voice full of embarrassment and shock said. I opened my eyes. I was looming right over Kairi! (A/N: dirty! Lol. XD. LOOM!!!! joke between friends)

She was lying right underneath me on the ground, her amrs out to the sides and her legs slightly apart. My knees were in between her legs and my hands on the floor beside her breasts! Gah! Her face was the darkest of crimson I had ever seen it get. I could feel the blush rising in my face, too.

There was a moment of awkward silence before somebody from the crowd of students that had surrounded us shouted: " Ooohh! Is it hot in here, or what?!" Some people laughed along, others, just gaped at the horrific scene.

"Sora and Kairi! What is the meaning of this?!" Miss Rhydayah shouted angrily,pushing her way through the throng to get to the center. I immediately rolled away from Kairi and stood to my feet. She clumsily stood, too, brushing off her skirt. The blushes still remained on our faces.

"Uhhh . . .I just . . .tripped . . .yeah . . ." I said uncertainly, avoiding Kairi's gaze. Miss Rhydayah gave both of us an evil glare and looked around at the group of students still standing motionless in a circle.

"Well, get back to class, all of you!" she said sternly, waving them all away. Before I could apologize, Kairi ran down the hallway, her deep blush and new tears on her face.

Well, at least I got her attention . . .

A/N: YAY! Poor Kairi, I would die if that happened to me! lol. That kinda happened once . . . dazes off as large group of children groan

Kietah in Old Man Voice:

Back in my day (more like two days ago), I was walking up the stairs to my confounded 6th period class, and my shoe slipped on the step and I fell backwards into the arms of this cute boy. Lol. He caught me and set me back on my feet, but I thought that was rather embarrassing. Lol. I'm such a clutz!

ANYWAYS, Kairi obviously didn't have a good day! I love making people's lives miserable!!! (only in fics though…lol) ok, well, let me know how you like this different style of fic or whatever. You know what to do, read and review! WOW! RYMING!!! WOOT! ahem

R&R please!!!!

Kietah-chan


	2. Confrontion

Unforeseen Attraction

By: Kietah-chan

A/N: YAY! I'm glad you guys liked the first chappie. I wasn't sure if you guys were gonna like it or not. Anyways, I'm listening to "Suteki da ne" from FFX . . .so . . .yea. this song is good. Lol. Well, thanks for reviewing; you made my day awesome! Here ya go!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this fic. ::sob:: I want Tidus, Riku and Sora . . .

Fa-Talony: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! THEY'RE MINE!!!

Kietah-chan: ::bursts into uncontrollable tears::

Ch. 2: Confrontation 

Kairi's POV:

As soon as the last bell of the day sounded through the empty halls, I dashed out of the classroom, tore down the hallway to my locker, flung upon the locker door, chucked my books inside, seized my backpack, slammed the door closed, sprinted back down the hallway and burst through the front doors into the sunshine before anyone could catch up to me. (A/N: GAH! LONG SENTENCE!!)

I was fuming so much, I swear you could see smoke coming out of my ears! What that idiotic kid did to me was . . . unthinkable! He humiliated me in front of the entire school and, worst of all, right in front of Riku. That had to have been the only chance possible for him to talk to me and now it's RUINED!

I swear, if I ever see that Sora kid again, I'm gonna strangle the kid! I'm gonna make him wish he never knew me! I'm gonna make him pay for lying on me like that with his legs up my skirt and his hands barely touching my breasts!

It wasn't until I looked up that I realized I wasn't going the right way. I was heading towards a clump of trees off the side of the dirt path to my house. I walked into the trees anyway.

Inside the shady grove of palm trees, a large rock sat silently in the small clearing. I slumped over to it and plopped down onto its rough, cold surface. I pulled my knees up to my chin and gazed out around me. From this spot in the trees, you couldn't see the path or the school. I was totally isolated in here.

Without warning, a warm and gentle tear ran down my cheek and slowly dropped onto my right knee. I quickly and distractedly brushed it away, but another tear fell out of my other eye and landed on my thigh.

Why am I crying? There's nothing to cry about . . .besides being humiliated in front of your sincerest crush . . .

Another tear fell.

No! Why won't these tears stop? Do not cry! I'm 16 now, I'm not supposed to cry at this age. I need to suck it up and take this like an adult. I have to forget about this whole dumb thing!

And another.

This is pathetic! Stop crying! Am I going to let this lame situation over a gorgeous boy ruin my life permanently?

One more.

I guess I am . . .

I stood up from the rock and pushed my way through the trees and brush and emerged out onto the path again. I started heading up the dirt path to my house again, the tears drying stiff on my cheeks. I was grateful I was alone. I didn't want anyone to see me like this. But still . . .there was something wanting someone to be by my side. I could hear my conscience screaming with each step I took because of that feeling.

Something stirred in the bushes lining the road up ahead. I stopped briefly, listening hard for what it could be. Then, re-adjusting my backpack on my shoulders, I started off again, going slower this time; still listening hard and my mind screaming.

Out of nowhere, a figure with silver hair leaped out the bushes and tackled me to the ground.

"What the--?!" I shouted in surprise. I looked up at Riku who had me pinned down using his arms on mine.

"Are you avoiding me, Kairi?" he asked me in a mock-hurt voice. I blushed deeply. I was completely speechless.

"I'm sorry about what happened in the hall today. I guess you have to be a little more . . ." he leaned down close to my face. " . . .careful . . ." he finished, now about an inch or so away from my face. I could feel his warm breath on my cheeks and his aqua eyes staring deeply into mine. The blush on my cheeks grew 10x's more.

Riku leaned even closer to me. I could feel my heart pounding. My mind was now screaming something about 'this is what you've always wanted!'. I believed that as I slowly closed my eyes. But then, a tiny voice in the back of my head, shouted in such a faraway tone, 'stop! This isn't right!'.

Before our lips could meet, I grabbed my backpack that had fallen off of me and shoved it right in front of my face. Riku kissed my backpack, then, feeling the odd texture, opened his eyes in shock. He jumped backwards in surprise.

"Woah!" he shouted, his aquamarine eyes still wide and displaying shock. "What just happened?!"

I said nothing at first, I just picked up my backpack and slung it over my shoulders and pulled my red hair from in between the backpack and the top of my uniform. I stood to my feet awkwardly and brushed the dirt off of my skirt and behind.

I marched off up the path past Riku. It was then that I turned around and looked at him still sitting there in the dirt.

"I'm just not ready yet, that's all . . ." I said to him quietly. He didn't reply, but continued to goggle at me with the same confused expression. I turned back to face the path and left him there in his dirty white shirt, part of his uniform, and messed up hair.

"Oh, " I said with my back still facing him as I continued to walk. "It's not right to skip classes . . .no matter how much you wanna meet someone . . ."

Sora's POV:

When I had left the school, I waited around and looked for Kairi to apologize, but she was nowhere to be seen. I saw that her friend Selphie was looking for her too.

Did she skip class? No way, that didn't sound like Kairi at all. She was too much of a good girl. But . . .then why does she like a bad guy like Riku?

I walked up the dirt path that led to many of the students' houses (including Kairi's) when I spotted Riku walking the opposite direction, his school uniform covered in dust and dirt. I ran to catch up to him.

"Hey, dude. What happened to you?" I asked him curiously, chuckling slightly at his disheveled appearance. He glared at me, which took me by little surprise. In all of my life that I had known him (which WAS practically all of my life), I had only seen my best friend glare at me like that when he either:

got dumped by a girlfriend

lost a Blitzball Tournament

or

C) got dissed by a girl.

"Ok, what is it this time?" I asked him, kind of exasperated in a way as he stopped in front of me on the path.

"Stupid girl . . .she likes me, but when I confront her, she goes berserk and shoves her backpack in my face . . ." Riku muttered irritably as he brushed off the dust on a sleeve of his uniform. I smiled to myself, but sighed anyway.

"Well, I can't blame her," I told him quietly. "I've learned that girls don't like it when guys get all up in their faces . . .or their ass . . ." I laughed. Riku scowled. I cleared my throat distractedly.

"So, um . . .who was it this time? Aerith . . .? Yuna . . .? Rikku . . .—" 

"Kairi," Riku frowned as he spat out her name like poison.

Cold swept all over me. It felt as if I had just swallowed an ice cube.

"Kairi?!? But—why??!" I sputtered out angrily. Riku gave me a confused look behind his fury.

"Because I wanted to apologize for what had happened today!" he said matter-of-factly. I scowled at him now.

"You did enough apologizing for today . . ." I muttered under my breath.

Riku laughed openly now. Once he regained himself he smiled and said to me: "You shouldn't be the one talking, 'Mister Clumsy'!"

"But . . .why couldn't you pick on some other girl instead of her?" I asked him almost desperately. Riku smirked in a knowing sort of way.

"Why? Is it because you have a wittle crushie wushie?" he mocked at me. I jumped backwards in more of alarm than outrage.

"What? Hell no!" I shouted without even knowing I was. Riku's smirk turned into a grin. Trying to defend my position, I raised my voice.

"Shut up! What makes you—HEY! Stop smiling! Listen to me! You better listen—"

"It's okay, Sora, I understand if you have a crush, okay?" Riku interrupted with that annoying grin still on his face.

I pushed past him and stormed off down the road to my house, ignoring Riku's continuous laughter and taunts.

Kairi's POV:

I pushed open the front door to my house and tried to creep as carefully and quietly as possible up to my room before my mother could stop me, when I heard her call my name. I reluctantly walked into the kitchen where she was making dinner.

"Honey, you were late coming home today from school? Why?" asked my overly curious mother with her back facing me as she stirred something in a pot on the stove. I sighed deeply.

"Miss Rhydayah wanted to talk to me about my poem I entered in a contest," I lied casually.

"Your poem 'Night Dwellers'?"

"Yes, mother . . ." I said in a bored tone. 'Like she would know it . . .'

"Is that the one about the little girl who gets haunted every night and—"

"Yes, mother!" I said, raising my voice slightly. I didn't deserve this stupid interrogation. I just want to get to my room!

"All right . . .you can go now. Dinner will be ready soon," she said in a quiet voice, stirring the pot some more.

"I'm not hungry," I muttered softly. I ran upstairs to my room before she could respond.

I burst through my bedroom door, feeling the knot of anger inside of chest rise up again dangerously. I threw myself down on my bed in the corner by the window. I didn't turn on the lights, so I was lying in almost complete darkness except for a few more rays of desperate sunshine streaming in through my closed window. It was so quiet in my room, I felt like I wasn't even there anymore. It felt like the surrounding darkness was suffocating me, and mocking at my despair and anguish.

'He's stupid,' I thought angrily as I closed my eyes tightly, trying to block out every image in my mind of him. But for some reason, his face would not vanish from in front of my eyes. It was almost like he was haunting me. 'Riku's stupid, Sora's stupid, this whole thing is stupid!'

'But . . .then again . . .' I thought as I slowly opened my eyes and sat up slightly so I could see out my window at the distant sea that now looked orange and pink because of the fading sunshine. Little stars were forming in the dark blue and black blanket of the night sky. Soon the moon will shine too.

' . . .Maybe I'm being a little stupid as well . . .'

It was weird. How Sora had looked at me when he first opened his eyes and saw what he was into; was weird. His deep blue eyes had grown so wide and the darkest blush ever formed on his tanned face.

I had never seen a guy blush like that before. I could understand that some of that was from embarrassment, but man!

It was almost like he . . .

No.

No way!

That's impossible!

He can't like me . . .

Not in a million years . . .

A/N: Agh. Sorry it took FORVER for me to update! It was a long chappie and I have had so much homework these past few days! Gah! Sorry again! Well, I hope y'all liked this one. I promise that the next one will DEFINETLY have more action to it . . .hehe . . . NOT WHAT YOU'RE THINKING RIGHT NOW! YOU DIRTY-MINDED PEOPLE! SHAME ON ALL OF YOU TO THINK THAT _THAT_ IS COMING NEXT!!! (it's coming AFTER the next chappie! )

Everyone: ::sweatdrop::

He . . .SO . . . .you guys know what to do! Thanks again for all of the reviews and keep looking for an update soon (at least I'll try!!!!)

Kietah-chan


	3. Midnight Companion

Unforeseen Attraction

By: Kietah-chan

A/N: Hiya! Ok, thanks for reviews. See? It didn't take me AS long as before to update! Right? He he . . .Well, anyways, I was reading some of old fics, and I'm surprised. They're pretty damn sad . . .lol. Now my fics got all happy. I dunno, I kinda want to go back to tragedy and drama and cold hard sappy romance again. But . . .I can't think of a plot idea. If any of you guys have ANY plot idea like my old fics (but not TOO close to them), send 'em to me in your reviews, ok? Arigato! Here ya go!

Kietah-chan: I'll let Sora do the disclaimer today!

Sora: ::reluctantly steps into spotlight:: do I really have to?

Kietah: yes.

Sora: damn you . . .::brandishes sheet a paper::

Paper: BRANDISH!!!!!!!

Disclaimer:

Sora: Kietah-chan does not own any of the characters in this fic, because if she did, Sora would be a monkey and rule the magical world of coconuts . . .the hell?

Kietah: tee hee! Anyways, on with da fic!

Ch. 3: Midnight Companion 

Sora's POV:

I sat up in bed and stared blankly out the window facing the sea. You could hardly see it, but nonetheless, I was just staring at it. Call me crazy if you like. I could hear the continuous waves lapping at the sandy shore, though. That sound was always so comforting. It was too damn hot for me to sleep, so I threw the sheets off of me and lay there; thinking.

Why is my life so screwed up? I obviously had something to do with it, but it seems that everything I do goes wrong. Everything! I want her so bad, but . . .I can't seem to get her. She seems to be just an image in my mind that I'll be haunted by forever. It's almost like our so-called "destiny" is to be apart, but my stubborn mind can't seem to handle that fact (or is it fiction?). My father has always told me that I have way too much determination. Is that really a bad thing? It seems to be, because I am now so determined for her, that I'm chasing a false dream.

She's in my memory . . .and my mind . . .all the time . . .I can't get her out of my head . . .

I swung my legs around to the side of my bed and stood to my feet. I was too lazy to change out of my clothes from the day, so I ended up flopping down on my bed in my school uniform. I pulled a sweatshirt on over this and zipped it up the front. I shoved my feet into my sneakers and walked slowly and quietly over to my window by my bed.

I unlatched the bronze lock with a soft snap and pulled the window up. I was immediately greeted with a cool breeze that had came straight from the ocean. I closed my eyes briefly; savouring the salty smell and feeling the sweat dry on my brow. I came back down to reality and carefully crawled through the tiny space of the open window and lowered myself slowly on the edge of the roof.

Making sure I closed the window, I crawled over to the side of the roof and peered down. It was a long jump, but I was desperate just to clear my head. I could've just stayed on the roof for a bit, but I needed to walk. Badly. I closed my eyes once more and braced myself for the jump. I crouched low and leapt off the edge and landed hard in a flowerbed below. I felt the stinging sensation rising up through my legs, and they almost gave out, but I some how managed to keep my balance. My lower legs gave a huge throb, but I ignored it and stepped onto the path that ran through my backyard to the school.

As I walked, I gazed around me. I have never been outside this late before, so the familiar path I took everyday seemed like a whole new world at the dark hours. I raised my gaze to the night sky and saw many stars dotting here and there, along with a large and glowing moon. A few scattered clouds were seen every now and then, but, besides that, it was a pretty clear night. The crickets and other sorts of insects chirped merrily in the long grass on either side of the path. The sound ceased, though, when I stepped past their perches. The cool wind blew again and I shivered now, even with a jacket on, and hugged myself to keep warm.

A twig snapped up ahead on the path, interrupting the silence. The insects must have heard it too, because they abruptly stopped making their music of the night, waiting in suspense of what the intruder could be. I, too, stopped and listened intently to try to hear any normal sounds. It was complete silence now, making this peaceful place suddenly seem suffocated with anxiety and danger.

"Who's there?" I blurted out in more of a protective voice than fearful. There was no response at first, except for the ocean waves on the shore sounding far away. Then, all at once, a figure emerged from up ahead on the path. It was rather tall, from what I could tell in the darkness, and didn't seem to notice me at first. Then, it turned its head in my direction (I think) and started towards me.

"I had a feeling you were going to sneak out on a hot night like this," my best friend said breathlessly, waltzing up to me nonchalantly. I let out the breath I was holding back for the past 5 minutes. It's only him . . .nothing to freak out about . . .

"What the hell are you doing out here? You almost gave me a heart attack!" I shouted angrily at him, now that my heart rate had returned to normal. I wasn't really "angry" at him, it's hard to be to your best friend, and it was more like a "playful" kind of anger. The goosebumps that had been all over my arms were still there, but the hairs on the back of my neck weren't prickling anymore.

"The same reason you're out here, duh," he said matter-of-factly. I rolled my eyes, (even though he couldn't see in the dark) and grinned.

A moment passed between us as the crickets started to chirp again and the breeze blew cold on us. I held myself closer to try to generate heat, but I had almost completely gone numb. I hate nights like this: the weather temperature is really hot, but then the breeze is cold and it practically FORCES you to wear a jacket, even though you're hot. It's very annoying.

"What are you thinking?" Riku asked me curiously as he peered into my face. His question took me somewhat by surprise. 'What was I thinking?' I thought uncertainly. I didn't respond at first, I was too busy trying to think of a quick lie to cover up my real thoughts. I was really thinking about her again. I didn't want to tell him that because, obviously, he would know my secret. Plus, he obviously likes her, too.

"I'm just thinking about all my homework I forgot to do . . .hehe . . ." I lied casually, grinning again. I laughed nervously which made my lie sound much more like a lie. Riku didn't say anything, but the look he was giving me said all his thoughts for him. I cleared my throat distractedly.

"So, um . . .yea . . ." I started off uncertainly. I really wanted to just continue walking, but I couldn't do that . . .it would look WAY too obvious. Riku averted his eyes to behind me, and for slightest and shortest moment, I thought I saw a glint of hatred flash in the aquamarine.

"Will you just stop pretending?!" He suddenly shouted angrily at me, really catching me off guard. The once-glimpse of hatred was now shining full long in his gaze. I stepped backwards in alarm. Immediately my mind was swarmed with questions:

'Does he know?' 

'What should I say?!'

'Is he reading my mind?'

"What?" I asked him stupidly. This little one-worded answer seemed to have pissed him off even more. He grabbed me by the shoulders with a tightened grasp that dug into my collarbones with force. I tried not to show any emotion; I didn't want to look even MORE obvious.

"Look, I know and you know that you like Kairi, ok? You don't have to keep pretending. Now, listen closely:" he hissed at me through clenched teeth. I was listening as much as mind would allow between the thousands of questions.

"Only one of us can have her, and I'm willing to make sure of it!" With that, Riku slammed my back into the nearest rock with a powerful force. The shock hit me in the lungs and I gasped for breath. It was getting harder and harder to not show any emotion what so ever.

In the time that he yanked me away from the rock, I pulled back my right fist and socked him right in the left eye. It seemed that that hurt me more than it hurt him, because a large throb ran through my hand and up my arm. Riku let go of my shoulders to my relief and stumbled backwards, his right hand covering his injured eye.

After a matter of seconds, when I had my head down, trying to catch my lost breath, a strong blow slammed into my gut and I bent over, completely lost of breath, now. Pain seeped through my entire body. I gasped for some precious air, but to no avail. No matter how many times I tried to draw breath, none came to my lungs. The sharpest pain of all was coming from one of my lower ribs. The stinging and throbbing of it made me realize I had broken a rib or two. It felt like it had snapped into a million pieces.

The pain wasn't over yet, though. Riku came out of nowhere and sunk his fist into my gut again, harder this time. I couldn't hold back my emotions any longer. I cried out in pain as my already pulsing rib gave into more torture. I was knocked to the ground my Riku's foot and I tasted dirt and blood. Now the side of my head was throbbing madly.

There he kicked me once again in my gut seven more times with the strength of a 16-wheeler until I finally rolled over. My head was spinning and I couldn't breathe. The ground I was staring at was slowly sliding in and out of focus as my head continued to throb along with my numb stomach. Something stirred in my stomach and burbled up to the surface of my mouth. I retched out a fair amount of sticky blood on the cold dirt. My vision started to darken as I heard the quiet footsteps of Riku walking away casually.

I couldn't breathe anymore . . .

20 minutes later . . .

Kairi's POV:

I sighed deeply with the chilly breeze blowing in from the restless sea. It was a dark night, but the moonlight and stars guided me along the path to the school. The path was still familiar to me even in the darkness, for I had walked on it way too many times for me to forget. I could've treaded on this with my eyes closed.

It wasn't until around 11:30 did I realize that I had forgotten my book along the path today. It probably flew out of my hands after Riku tackled me, or it could be in the shady grove of trees I stopped at. I didn't know. I had sneaked out of my house to go find it, so, here I was.

My pajama pants were rather long and were dragging on the dirt as I walked. I didn't bother putting on a jacket, but now I was regretting it. My bare shoulders of my spaghetti strap black top were almost numb with cold from the wind. Part of me wanted to go back to my house and try to warm up there, but then I would just sweat to death instead. I needed to get that book.

I was still slightly mad about this whole day, but now, it being midnight, I seemed to have slightly forgiven everybody and everything. I made a promise to myself when I was younger to never hold a grudge against someone for more than a day. I kept to it ever since then. I can't be mad at someone forever.

Just then, the silence was shattered by a quiet cough up ahead on the path. I paused for a moment, listening for whatever it could be. My mind suddenly settled on the fact that it was Riku trying to attack me again, so I started to turn around and sneak quietly away from the soon-to-be scene.

Another cough was heard, only louder this time. It didn't sound too healthy. It almost sounded like it had something lodged into its throat or lungs. The sound disgusted me, but my curiosity got the better of me.

I stepped slowly down the dirt path with caution, glancing around me everywhere for someone to jump out. A little bit ahead on the ground, I saw a leg sticking out from behind a large rock. I could not recognize anything about it, for it was really dark. I squinted my eyes for more details in it, but I couldn't find any. I took a few more steps towards the rock and leg, moving more and more slowly and carefully.

I moved around to where I was facing the leg and saw more of a figure slumped up against the rock. I still couldn't tell who it was besides the fact that they were wearing their school uniform. It was obviously a guy because of the pants. I crept closer and closer to the body of the mysterious guy, still trying desperately to identify him.

I kneeled down next to him and slowly reached a hand out to touch his shoulder and pull him onto his back so I could see who it was. I immediately spotted blood on his jacket, only making me work faster. I grabbed his shoulder and slowly turned him on his back so he was facing me.

" . . .Sora . . .?" I asked quietly after realizing whom it was. There was no response. I gasped out in horror and shock as I saw what he looked like. There was blood running through his light brown hair, turning it a dark brunette. It was hard to see anything in the dark, but I could see that he was holding his side protectively. I then knew that he wasn't faking it.

The clouds then shifted their position and the moonlight shone brightly upon the ground. I could now see everything else about him. There was blood covering his mouth that was slightly parted open. The blood that was running down the side of his face mixed in with the blood on his lips, chin and neck. Dirt clung onto some patches of blood. The part that really scared me was the fact that his eyes were closed.

'Could he be dead?' I thought, my mind now going numb in fear and shock. His face did look peaceful, but as I leaned down closer to him, I heard some raspy breath drawing in and out of his mouth. I let out a slight sigh of relief for the moment.

"What . . .happened to you?!" I shouted to him, still kind of numb with shock. I shook his shoulders faintly. He did not respond, as usual. I did not really expect him to; I just wanted some kind of sound of relief.

"Help! Somebody please help!" I yelled over my shoulder at some of the nearby houses. Nobody answered my call. I turned back to face him, now sort of angry by what was going on.

"Why won't you answer me?! Snap out of it, you bastard! Wake up!" I screamed at him. I didn't understand why nobody could hear my yelling at this half-dead boy. At last, Sora made a sound from somewhere between a moan of pain and a cough. He slowly opened his bright blue eyes.

His eyes were not like I used to see them. They were slightly filmed with blood from his hair. He fixed his zombie-like gaze on my furious and frightened face. I did not know what to say to him. My mind was swarming with questions that will probably never be answered.

" . . .Kairi . . .?" He whispered weakly. I continued to stare at him in awe and fear. 'He looks so pitiful lying here like this . . .' I thought blankly.

"Can . . .can you walk . . .?" I asked him quietly. 'What am I thinking?!' I thought incredulously. Am I actually considering bringing this classmate of mine back to my house?!? Is THAT what I'm thinking? I must be mad!!

"I think so . . ." He answered meekly to my question. I slowly stood to my feet, part of me not believing what I was doing or if he could really walk or not in this condition. I grabbed one of his arms gingerly, careful not to hold too hard, and swung it around my shoulder carefully and pulled him up to his feet. Immediately, I was under his almost complete weight and I staggered for a moment, trying to regain my balance. I did, and stood up straight. He was much taller than I was, so it felt kind of awkward.

Sora wobbled some and almost fell back to the ground, but I grabbed a tighter grip on him, and he stayed put. I noticed that he still clutched onto his stomach or ribs protectively with his free hand, which made me wonder.

Out of nowhere, his already pale face turned a ghostly white. A deep burbling sound murmured from somewhere inside of him and he bent down hastily. He wretched up a large amount of blood onto the ground with a horrifying sound. Some of the blood splashed onto my cami, but I didn't really care. After he was finished, he straightened back up; some stray blood on his face and chin.

'He's really sick . . .he needs serious medical help, quick,' I thought numbly. If I did bring him back to my house, what would I do? I'm not a certified nurse . . .the only thing about health and medical stuff was in Health Class! I couldn't just keep him there . . .something bad would happen. He could maybe even die . . .

'But then again, why am I even helping him to begin with?' I asked myself blankly. True, maybe I'm doing this because I'm a nice girl and I can't just not help anybody who needs it . . .Just think about it, if I wouldn't have came here on this night, he could have died.

I started to somewhat drag Sora along with some mild help from him too. I didn't want him to exert himself, because he kept staggering. I could tell that this was going to be a long trip back to my house. I headed in that direction from what I could see, of course, because the moon conveniently went behind some stupid clouds.

The earlier coldness that I had felt had almost gone away because of this extra heat. I felt a little bit better, even though I was lugging this weight. I know that I had forgotten my book back there somewhere, but I didn't care. I had a whole new matter on my hands, now, and I had to take care of this. 'Had?'

The truth of the matter was . . .

I had no idea what I was planning to do with this midnight companion . . .

But I just want to get this night over with . . .

A/N: Yay! That was a long chappie that I decided to put a lot of detail and crap in it for not apparent reason! grins Sorry if that was pain staking. So . . .yes, more action is to come. But now comes the part I'm kind of nervous about:

Your reviews.

I hope you make them nice and don't criticize me!!!!! I know a lot of Riku fans will despise me from this chappie and crap like that, but live with it, ok?!??!

Well, please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please PLEASE click the little button right below this!!!!! Yea yea, you see it? CLICK IT!!!!!!!!!

Kietah-chan


	4. The Longest Night Ever Part: 1

Unforeseen Attraction

By: Kietah-chan

A/N: YAY! Thank you guys so much for reviewing and putting up with my laziness of not updating for about a month!! ::laughs nervously:: Please don't kill me! Well, anyways, you should all be glad that I am at least updating now!! I wanted to finish this chappie before Christmas . . .so . . .that was my goal . . .LOL. Well, Thank you guys so much!! Now, a heads-up on this chappie:

--gorey scenes (at least my friends thought so . . .)

--unsure romance

--and deep mind contradictions!!! Woo!

Well, I hope this won't be too dull….but the stuff in here is VERY IMPORTANT for the future of this fic so pay close attention!!!

Here ya go!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this fic….which I find to be very stupid and lame. I don't know why I can't OWN any characters . . .I mean, I draw them all the time . . .so . . .why can't I HAVE them? Maybe I should write to SquareSoft or something . . .that could work . . .but they probably wouldn't let me cuz I'm only a video game-struck teenage girl . . .so . . .they would probably think I was crazy and throw me out the door into the dark and lonely world . . .so . . .now I resort to typing this damn disclaimer note. There you go. Enjoy the chappie!!

Ch. 4: The Longest Night Ever—Part: 1 

Kairi's POV:

My mind was pounding uncontrollably and my body was aching under the dead weight of my burden I seemed forced to carry. A couple of times I stumbled over an idiotic rock that seemed to be lying inconveniently in the middle of my path and fell over, obviously causing Sora to topple to the ground as well. Then, forcing my body to move and not just lay there in the dirt, I staggered back to my feet and lifted him back to his feet and around my shoulder again. I could feel tears of pain and fury rising in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I would not cry in a situation like this: that's not who I am.

As I was about halfway to my house, the idea occurred to me that I could have taken him to the nearest house, called the hospital and saved myself this torture. I cursed under my breath about how stupid I was to not realize that before I was too far away. I had no other choice but to continue trudging along this damn path in the hot summer heat joined in with occasional bone-chilling breezes from the ocean. The stars that once twinkled so gently above now seemed to mock my stupidity and weakness. I ignored their silent taunts and continued to my house that now seemed so far away.

I had always loved my house being on a hill so I could see over the cliff to the water below, but now I was cursing everything possible for the inconvenience of its' location at a time like this. I knew I shouldn't have blamed it on my parents or the Realtors or people like that, but I was so angry that everybody seemed guilty. The sweat was dripping down my face and Sora's blood ran into my clothes and sticking to my skin. I could smell the odd combination of sweat and blood at I stumbled along, and every now and then, I felt like I needed to stop to hurl out my twisting insides, but I swallowed it down.

I felt the strength of my companion slowly dying away by the way his arm was loosening its' grip on my shoulders and the colour fading from his once-tan face. I tried to speed up the process of getting to our destination, but my legs collapsed from underneath me and I fell to the ground with a soft thud. Sora rolled a little ways away from me, but I didn't care. All of the pain and emotion I was holding up inside for the past 10 minutes came bubbling back up to the surface of my chest. I started sobbing then; I just full-out cried there in the twilight and in the summer heat. Sora didn't make a sound as I let my emotions run out of me. Half of my numb mind believed he was already dead, which only brought more tears to my eyes. I felt like a failure. I felt like it was my entire fault that the boy was dead and that he should have gotten medical help, but I refused to.

The sudden sound of puking caught my attention and I blearily turned my head in Sora's direction. He had doubled over and was facing away from me with his arms clutched around his stomach, hurling into the grass by the path. The sound was horrible and I felt like I had to throw up too, but I restrained myself. We didn't really need two people throwing up at a time like this; one was enough. A dry coughing sound followed up his disposing of liquids and it quickly ceased in a matter of seconds. I quickly brushed away the tears that were still lingering on my cheeks and staggered back to my feet. I walked over to where he was lying and shook his shoulder gently.

"Come on, we don't have that much further to go . . ." I whispered quietly to him. For a moment he didn't respond nor seem to acknowledge my command, but I then saw his eyes slowly open to reveal those glazed irises that looked all too vacant. I grabbed his hand and forcefully pulled him to his feet. His legs collapsed under the sudden weight and he almost fell back over again. I grabbed his other hand and pulled it around my shoulder so he could balance himself.

So off we were again; trudging to a place that seemed to keep getting further and further away with every staggered step. The pain was once again inflicted upon my already beaten shoulders, but now I had a new hope arisen in my downcast chest. I knew that we would make it eventually and that all would be well, but "eventually" seemed like an eternity.

After what did seem like an eternity, we finally did reach the back door to my house. As soon as I neared the step, I pulled him off of my shoulders for relief. Sora landed on the patio with a dull thud, but I really didn't care at that moment. We were there and that was all that mattered in my mind. My mother never locked the back door, which always freaked me out when I was little, but now I was very grateful of her habits. I turned the brass knob as quietly as possible and pushed open the glass door into my dark kitchen. I moved back over to where Sora was lying and, once again, hoisted him onto myself again for what I hoped would be the last time.

I dragged him through the door and into the kitchen where I couldn't see a thing except for a small area around the open door where some meager moonlight was streaming in through. I didn't bother turning on any of the lights, for I knew my mom would see it through the crack under her door and immediately come to see this predicament. I knew that if I told her, she would demand me to call an ambulance so this hellish nightmare would come to a close. It seemed, right now, that that was the only possible solution, but something kept telling me that it wasn't.

I knew that I was taking a huge chance of dragging the half-dead body of my classmate through my house and up the stairs to my bedroom, but I had no other choice. I knew that blood could and probably would get on our pearly white carpet and would send my mother to thinking some odd things, but I didn't care. I dragged Sora through the dark kitchen; bumping into counters and the table and almost stepping on my cat's tail, until the stairs finally came into view when I squinted my eyes. I climbed the steps while pulling him along behind me, praying with every step that we weren't making too much noise.

At the top of the stairs, I limped along with him as quietly as I could possibly go when we passed my mother's room. We continued down to the end of the hallway where my bedroom was located. I slowly and cautiously opened my door and tiptoed inside. Once the door was shut, I bustled over to my closet door and opened that, now not caring if I made noise, for my mother would just think I was looking for a stuffed animal or something stupid like that. I turned on the closet light and my completely and hideously messy closet that I called my "junk room" came into view. I pushed around some random objects and made a small clearing for where Sora could lay down. I propped his head up with a green pillow that was lying nearby. The fact that he was going to get everything bloody didn't matter to me. I had too many other things on my mind.

"Hang in there . . .we made it this far and now you're safe," I whispered hastily to him, even though I guessed he couldn't hear me. He was probably in "la-la" land or something, but I knew he wasn't dead. I checked his pulse anyway though: just to make sure. There was blood on the corner of his mouth and it was bugging me, so I took a blanket corner the wiped it away gently. I didn't really need that blanket, so it didn't matter if it got bloody. His face had become a sickly pale, probably from blood loss, and his eyes were still squeezed shut. I knew he was in pain by the way he clutched his stomach, but I didn't know how severe it really was.

Sora slowly opened his bright blue eyes with such an effort for such a small task. They weren't filmed with blood anymore, I observed as he fixed his gaze on mine, but they still looked cloudy in a way. I saw the pain and worry shining so clearly in those captivating orbs. I saw the suffering of his insides and the pounding of his head in his eyes. The way he was looking at me brought on a new word to describe this boy: innocent.

'This is all screwed up,' I thought angrily in bewilderment as I gazed into those eyes shining with deep innocence. It seemed too hard for me to imagine that this was the boy I was furious at all day! Now, here I am, watching over him as if he were in my care! 'Why am I even caring about this idiot kid, anyway?!' I almost screamed aloud. I couldn't believe that I was actually sitting there, beside him, wiping blood away from his mouth and checking his pulse every 5 minutes. 'If I should be with anyone right now, I should be with Riku and wiping blood away from his mouth! Not Sora's!' I thought furiously to myself.

But no . . .something was telling me inside; a little tiny and far away voice that this was right . . .and that it's my destiny. That made me think: what is destiny? Does it mean just to belong to somebody forever and ever? Does it mean that you were meant to be? Or does it mean that you just love each other? But then . . .what is love? I could never come with an actual definition for the term "love", and I have wondered over the question for years now. How do you know you love somebody? Is it like a rock hitting your head when you're around them with a note attached to it saying: "hey, stupid! You love him!"? Or is it something more complex? But whatever love is, something was hitting my head . . .but it wasn't a brick . . .it was my light bulb string . . .

"You don't . . .have to . . .do this, ya know . . ." Sora said to me in a raspy whisper, jerking me from my confused and jumbled up thoughts and bringing me back down to earth. He was still staring at me with those eyes, and, judging by how watery my eyes were, I was too. I looked away for a moment, afraid that he would think I was crying or something.

"Yea . . .I know I don't . . ."I said quietly back to him, still not facing him and quickly brushing my tears away. After all of the "water" was gone, I turned back around to look at him, when I saw that his eyes were, yet again, closed. They didn't seem to show any kind of pain like before, so I knew he was sleeping. It was almost like he needed to know why I was doing what I was doing for him to sleep peacefully. Now I felt like I had fulfilled his wishes. That made me feel a little better about what I was doing. I didn't feel as guilty as before, but still, every now and then, a little pang of reasoning struck me and I started to rise to get my cell phone to call an ambulance. But something was holding me back . . .could it be . . .destiny?

I turned round to face his sleeping self when I stuck my hand out and rested it on his forehead. It felt hot, as if a raging fever was rushing through his veins, or it could have just been from the temperature outside and in my room. I wanted to open a window, but the breeze would chill it too quickly. Then I would be dealing with a new fever crisis. My eyes moved to his other hand resting on his stomach. I knew I was violating him by snooping in to see what was hurting so badly, but I needed to know.

As gently as possible, I took his hand in mine and moved it away and rested on the floor. Anxiety overtook me and I almost was afraid to see what he was hiding from me, but it seemed like vital information in a time like this. I slowly unzipped his black jacket down to his waist and gasped in horror. The site sickened me and I actually had to spit out something that rose from my stomach.

Right about where his stomach was, was a large black and blue mark about the size of a baseball. It seemed to be swelling and almost about to burst from his gut. The blob had streaks of yellow and brown mixed within it. With every breath Sora took, the blob and swell rose and fell as if that were his stomach. It was just what I had expected and worse. As my eyes swept over him, I saw more black and blue marks about where his ribs were. Judging by the way they were positioned, I knew that he must have snapped a few of them, also. 'No wonder he's in pain . . .'

I zipped his jacket up as quickly as possible, wanting to hide the disgusting and revolting sight from my mind and sat back with my back to the wall. Sora was in terrible shape for some reason that I didn't know of yet. How can you just find somebody lying in the middle of a path with a swollen stomach, four broken ribs and a gash in their head? It was almost as if he hit his head for the gash and landed on a rock or something to break the ribs . . .but how did his stomach get like that? The whole situation baffled me and I couldn't find an answer. I needed to know, but Sora was sleeping (and God did I not want to bother him in his condition) and I needed to sleep as well.

I looked blankly over at his sleeping face that now looked peaceful and innocent again. I wanted to move closer to him, but I also didn't want to. It's not like I was afraid of him or anything; I just don't want to be near him. I'll think too many things if I do. There was something else about this 16 year-old boy that I just couldn't put my finger on. Behind his strange and unusual innocence, there was something masked that I wanted to reveal. I just couldn't find it, though.

It struck me that I never would have dreamed of this whole thing happening when I jumped out my window on a mission to get my lost book. Well, look at what happened. If I had come across him lying on the path right after school today, I would have left for the buzzards! It's all because of my damn forgiveness! Now I'm in this mess and I can't get out of it because of my damn conscience! I closed my eyes for what I knew would be the longest night ever . . .

Whose feelings are these?

Why am I feeling so caring towards him?

Why is the pounding of my heart so loud?

. . .Can . . .he hear it?

A/N: OH YEA! I liked that chappie, I dunno about you guys, though. You might have thought it was boring . . .BUT I TOLD YOU TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION!!! THE STUFF THEY TALKED ABOUT WILL BE IMPORTANT IN THE NEXT FEW CHAPPIES!!! WOOOOOOOOOO!! Lol. Well, sorry there wasn't much dialog . . .there was a lot of actions and thoughts. LOL. I really liked how I ended this chappie though. Meh.

Well, you know what to do!!!!!!

::brandishes Christmas Carols song sheet::

Everybody in story: ::singing to the tune of "Deck the Halls":: Please oh please review this story! Please of please oh please, oh please oh please! Or K-c will hunt you down! Please oh please oh please, oh please oh please! She's sorry for the wait you endured! Please oh please, please oh please, oh please please please! But be happy, she updated! So please oh please oh please, review this FIC!!!!!!!!!

::random audience goes wild:: LOL

Kietah -chan


	5. The Longest Night Ever Part: 2

Unforeseen Attraction

By: Kietah-chan

A/N: Thank you guys so much for the reviews! That cheered me up!!! Woot! Oh, and another thing, stupid ol' fanfiction booted my ficcy off the site cuz I "violated a requirement on the upload page" or something . . . so that's where all my reviews disappeared off to. I was so pissed when I found out, so I had to upload the ENTIRE fic again!! Grr!!! Oh well, I'm just glad its back on track!! Woo! Well, I know I left y'all in some major suspense, so I'm gonna satisfy you guys by updating ASAP!

::random audience gasps::

I know, I know, it's not like me to not procrastinate! LOL. I do that ALL THE TIME on school projects . . .it drives teachers INSANE! Well, my friend Fa-Talony practically wrote out the plot for this chappie (literally! ::holds up piece of paper with scribbled handwriting on it:) So compliment her for the idea, and me for stringing it together! YEA!

Well, without further ado, here ya go!

Disclaimer: Meh. I don't own it, OKAY?!!? Geez . . . .::walks off with Sora wrapped up in chains:: Shh . . .

Ch.5: The Longest Night Ever—Part: 2

Kairi's POV:

The warm evening breeze blew through my hair as I sat on the forlorn beach at night, all alone. Somebody came up behind me and wrapped their arms around my shoulders, taking my by surprise. I looked up slowly and saw that it was Riku. I smiled at him, and him to me. My heart didn't melt, but I could hear it pounding faster and faster inside of my chest as he leaned down closer to me . . .

I woke with a start and realized . . .I was dreaming. Idiot dreams. When my eyes slowly slid into focus, I saw that Sora was still sleeping nearby on the floor, his position changed from the last time I saw him. I tried to sit up, but my head gave a throb, I'm guessing from leaning it against the hard wall for about 3 hours. My hands were cold and clammy and I squeezed them tight to produce some warmth.

I didn't have a clock in the closet, for obvious reasons, but I guessed it to be around 3:30 or so in the morning. That only meant one thing: I was 2.5 hours closer to when I should "wake up" and go to school. The idea never struck me before that I still had to somehow get to school!! I just thought on and on about this stupid situation and didn't notice that tomorrow was a school day and that I would somehow have to get past my mother with this half-dead body in my closet!

Before I started to panic, a very soft and weak coughing sound came to my attention. He was waking up. Sora rolled onto his side, but immediately rolled back onto his back because of his poor stomach. After a few groans of pain, his eyes started to slowly open to reveal those annoying beautiful eyes of his. I wanted to grab his eyelids and pull them back over those glowing orbs, but I seemed frozen on the spot. That's what I hated about them: they always made me freeze in my tracks and lose all of the words that I was going to say.

For a moment or two, he just stared blankly at my high ceiling with one light bulb with a string attached to it, which almost made me think that he was blind and didn't notice the bright light shining in his eyes. But, after a bit, he slowly took his eyes away from my ceiling and fixed them on (guess who) me.

I didn't look away, even though my mind was continuously ordering me to. I just stared at him, like a deer caught in car headlights, screaming on the inside. I took the time to notice what he now looked like from what he seemed to be previously. It looked like most of the blood had dried up around his face, leaving it caked onto his delicate features. His hair that was originally light brown now took on the appearance of being auburn from all of the blood still hiding inside of his locks. He gave me the impression of being some kind of zombie from a cheesy horror flick and I almost smiled, but stopped myself before I did. It wouldn't really fit in with the mood we were going through then.

I thought he was going to say something to me at least, but to no avail. He seemed to just enjoy staring at me like babies do when they have nothing else to do. I finally tore my eyes away from his, which pleased my mind and ceased its' ongoing screaming. I felt bad about doing so, though, I felt like I didn't want to look at him and maybe I gave him the impression of that, because when I looked back around, his eyes were closed again. I sighed quietly to myself and tried to busy my mind with ideas for what I could do in the morning about school and all.

After a while, I came up with a plan. I would go into my bed around 5:50 and lay there for a bit, pretending to be asleep. Then, I'll turn off my alarm so my mom would come into my room and see what was up with me. I would tell her that I felt like shit and I couldn't go to school that day. Hopefully she would believe me and I would be okay. Then, when she leaves for work, I'll tend to Sora and crap like that. I hope that will work, because I couldn't think of anything else that would be believable. My mom was hard to convince sometimes.

I moved over to where Sora lay and stared at his face, now happy that his eyes weren't open. I found it ironic that I couldn't look at him when he was staring at me, but now, with his eyes closed, he was completely unaware that I was looking at him the same way. His face was more relaxed than what it used to be, which lightened my heart a small bit. He still had that same pained look set on his expression, though that seemed to refuse to go away no matter how he felt. I wanted to somehow make it go away, but it was nearly impossible and that it would have to go away on its' own.

As I watched him sleep, I started to wonder what he was dreaming. Was he dreaming of a better place and that he was back in school and that none of this ever happened? That's what I wish would happen . . .but something seemed to fit into the puzzle of life with this situation. I just wish I knew what the hell it was. Maybe Sora was dreaming of me . . .

I don't care. Why am I worrying about what this boy is dreaming of? Who cares if it's about me?! I don't. But that nagging feeling kept creeping back into my confused and jumbled up mind of I wanted to know. I could never find out unless I asked him, which I really didn't want to do. That would be silly. What would I say? Something like: "Hey, Sora, were you dreaming about me?" That's so stupid. He would think I was insane or something. Maybe I am . . .but right now it was hard to tell, because it seemed like everyone was insane.

Something struck me internally in my head that made me want to scream. It was the most random and unthinkable thought I could possibly think at this time and moment. I covered my mouth with both hands to make sure that the vile sentence would not slip between my tongue and teeth and spill out for human ears to hear. I slowly backed up against the wall with my hands still clamped over my mouth and I tried to clear my mind of the evil thought, but the phrase multiplied until I couldn't think of anything else except of it.

'I love you . . .'

I closed my eyes and tried not to think of the thought that was trying so desperately to push through my mouth so it could ring out for him to hear. No! I do not love him! I do not love Sora! Why am I thinking this?! What made me think of that?! Definitely not my mind . . .it seemed so out-of-the-blue to be from my thoughts. Why would I say that? I don't love this boy, what makes me think that?!

. . .I don't . . .right?

I shook my head in despair and let my hands fall from my mouth. I was breathing heavily and I felt like I had just run a marathon. Never before in my life had I struggled to keep a simple little phrase from escaping from my mouth into the open. I never wanted to deal with that feeling again, and for now, it seemed to be over with.

My eyes traveled back over to the sleeping teen that didn't seem to be aware of any of the circumstances that were occurring in my mind. Of course he didn't understand! He can't read my thoughts! I reached a hand out over to him and felt his forehead. Sure, his temperature had gone down, but he still felt warm. His pulse was good and so was his breathing, so it wasn't like he was dying or anything . . .nothing to freak out about.

I leaned my head back against the wall again and slowly closed my eyes blotting out the vision in front of me. I smiled weakly, for a reason I did not know. This was not a time to be smiling. But I seemed so happy at that moment, maybe it was because he was there. But why does that make me feel so happy inside? I act like I love him or something. I don't . . .

Soon, sleep overtook my tired and exhausted body.

Tap Tap Tap 

I rolled over onto my side and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to hold onto a beautiful dream I was seeing in my head. It was of Riku again . . .

Tap Tap Tap 

My eyes snapped open and my closet came into view in a blurry sort of way from sleeping. I glanced over at Sora----still sleeping. Where was that sound coming from? Maybe it's my cat at the window seeing some squirrel or something.

Tap Tap Tap! 

I got up painfully, because I was very stiff from lying in an odd position on the closet floor for a few hours and opened my door. It was completely dark in my room except for the last few beams of moonlight coming in from my window and onto the floor before dawn arose. I stepped into a patch of soft moonlight and squinted over at my window. I didn't see my cat.

Tap Tap Tap!! 

I slowly walked over to my window and pressed my hand on the warm glass. I peered outside, but it was hard to see in the dark. Out of what seemed to be nowhere, a face suddenly pressed up against the outside glass pane. I jumped backwards in alarm and made sure not to cry out. After a few seconds, I realized who it was.

Aqua eyes shone mysteriously behind a few strands of forlorn silver tresses as he looked in at me. When he saw that he had caught my attention, he smiled in a flirtatious way. My heart pounded steadily inside of my chest. He motioned silently with his free hand that wasn't holding onto my windowsill to open the window and let him in.

I stood where I was for a moment, thinking about what I should do. If I let Riku in . . .he could find make a lot of noise, wake up my mom, and ruin every possible thing. But . . .I want to be alone with him tonight . . .I like him so much . . .

I decided to let him in. I quietly turned the iron latch on my window and pushed open the panes that swung out like doors. Riku gratefully swung his legs inside the window and slid in. The cool breeze swept over me as I quickly closed the window, shutting off the air for a moment. Once I had latched it safely, I turned to look at Riku who was smiling at me again in the same way. I smiled back at him. Damn . . .i'm too much of a flirt. But he's so hot.

In the midst of all of our smiling, I realized SHIT!! The closet door is still open!!!!! I had to close it before Riku could even LOOK inside the door and know everything in a matter of seconds. Oh God . . .

I sidestepped my way past Riku who followed my every move with his eyes, giving me a strange look all the same too. I couldn't blame him . . .I looked like I was hiding something. I slowly backed up against my closet door and pushed my back on it until it closed with a click. I leaned up against the door and tried to look as normal and relaxed as possible while hiding something so strange. Riku still continued to give me that strange look, and was about to say something when I cut him off.

"SO . . .what are you doing here tonight? Isn't it late?" I asked him all-too casually and glanced over at my digital alarm clock with glowing green numbers saying 3:25 in the morning. Riku averted his eyes to the floor in what for a second I thought was embarrassment. Riku? Embarrassed? Ha! That is too weird to be true!

"Well, I just really needed to talk to you . . ." He whispered in a low tone, which surprised me a bit. He actually was caring to not wake up my mother. His head was still facing down and I couldn't see his eyes because his silver hair had fallen in front of them. I remained silent and still pressed against the door, waiting for him to continue.

"Will you listen to me?"

"Sure."

There was a moment of silence between us two and for a second, I felt like this really wasn't Riku. He just seemed so different than his normal flirtatious and bragging self. He lifted his head up and I finally saw his eyes. They were shining so beautifully in the patch of moonlight he was standing in, and it made him look like he was a ghost or something in a child's dream. I continued to stare at him, still waiting for what was so important he had to tell me that couldn't wait until I saw him tomorrow in school (even though I wasn't going to go).

Thump Thump 

Was that my heart I was hearing? It seemed so loud. I was getting nervous . . .what is he going to say? Why is he taking so long just to tell me something?

"Kairi . . ."

Thump Thump 

Riku took a step closer to me, so he was now about 3 feet away from me. I didn't move away; I couldn't, I pressed up against the stupid closet door. His eyes were burning into mine and I could practically feel the heat from our stare flaming inside of my chest. I wanted to look away, but his beautiful eyes captivated me.

Thump Thump 

"I think I . . ."

Thump Thump 

" . . .love you . . ."

Thump Thump 

He was getting closer to me. I couldn't move, nor could I breathe. I was glued to the spot and could hear the pounding of my heart growing faster and faster and louder and louder until I wanted to scream.

Thump Thump 

Riku's hand slid onto the side of my face and he gently caressed my chin in the palm of his hand. I couldn't do anything!!

Thump Thump 

I noticed something now. My eyes shifted over to his left eye and I saw a black ring started to form around it like a black eye or something. I saw the puffy red patch under his eye . . .

Thump Thump 

He leaned down close to my face. So close, I could feel his warm breath on my cheek for the shortest moment as he closed his eyes. I felt the heat rising in my face as he moved in closer and closer.

Thump Thump 

Warm lips pressed gently on mine and I didn't know what to do. He still had his hand on my right cheek. I closed my eyes, only to concentrate on what I was all seeing. His black eye . . .the strange smell of . . .blood?

_Thump . . ._

"YOU BASTARD!!!" I screamed shrilly as I shoved him away from me as quickly as possible. I didn't care if my mother heard me—heck, I didn't care if the whole NEIGHBORHOOD heard me! The look on Riku's face was priceless. He was so stunned and shocked at the same time: his eyes were wide and he resembled what he had looked like yesterday on the path from school.

I was panting heavily and glaring with all of my might at the teenage boy in front of me: the one who I had crushed on for years. He had finally done the thing I had been wishing for countless nights and here I am, shoving him away onto my bedroom floor. Part of me wanted to tackle him and kill him, but the other half wanted to kiss him the way it was supposed to be. God! I don't know if I want to kill you or kiss you! (A/N: HA! A "Kill Me, Kiss Me" line! Woo!)

"How could you . . .?" I growled at him through clenched teeth. I was seething all over and I felt some angry tears welling up in my eyes, but I wasn't concentrating on that right now. I was too focused on getting answers to the 45,378 questions zooming through my head.

Riku looked like he was lost of words completely which did not satisfy me . . .I wanted him to explain everything! He is just sitting there like an idiot when a life-or-death answer was at stake! Does he not realize what I am talking about? Is he that oblivious?!

"Kairi? What are you thinking? What—"

"NO! What were YOU thinking?!!?" I yelled at him in frustration, the tears now started to fall from my eyes and onto the carpeted floor. Riku stared at me open-mouthed for a few more seconds, then seemed to regain his dignity and stand to his feet. Now, _I_ wasn't looming over him asking for answers, _he_ was now looming over me for answers.

"I already told you, Kairi. I love you! I thought you said that you were listenin—"

"WHY DID YOU PULVERIZE SORA?!!?!?!" I screamed full out at him. I knew my mom was now being able to hear everything and was probably coming out to see what was going on, but I still had time for answers. Riku's blank and confused expression quickly turned to anger like a crack of a whip. This new mien startled me for a second, but I held in my emotions, except for the few stray tears still running down my face.

"The brat had it coming to him! He was always in my way when it came to you!" Riku shouted back at me, fury rising in those aquamarine eyes of his. He closed them for the briefest moment, then opened them wide in full anger. "Don't you see?! HE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU!!"

The last sentence was apparently supposed to have some sort of effect on me, and I think it did, but my attention dropped away immediately when I heard footsteps outside of my door. I hurried over to where Riku was standing and started pushing him towards my window. He looked a little angry and confused about why this 16 year-old girl who was much smaller and apparently weaker than himself was pushing him to the window without so much of an explanation. I reached the window, undid the lock and unceremoniously pushed Riku out onto my roof.

"Go home!" I whispered at him from inside of my room and closed the panes and locked it again. I didn't look to see if he was leaving, I immediately grabbed my T.V remote, flopped on my bed, turned it on, and started flipping through channels. The bedroom door opened.

"Kairi! What is going on in here?! I heard somebody shouting!" My mother asked me in a concerned and panicked voice. When she saw me lying on my bed casually and flipping through the channels on my television, she seemed to ease a bit.

"I was watching a soap opera on T.V . . ." I lied smoothly. I continued to slip through the stations, occasionally stopping on one to prove my point. "Sorry . . .was it too loud?"

My mother adjusted her blue robe and squinted over at my alarm clock. "Honey, it's 4:00 in the morning! You have school tomorrow—er, today! You need sleep or you'll get sick!" she started to nag like she usually did.

"I couldn't go to sleep . . ." I told her in a tone making me sound pitiful. My mom gave me a disapproving look, but I knew she didn't know I was lying. I was so good at that.

"Fine, fine, just turn off your T.V and go to sleep, dear! Goodnight . . ." she came over and kissed my forehead lightly. For a moment, I thought she was going to smell Sora's blood, but she obviously didn't, for she strolled on out of my room and closed my door.

I clicked off my T.V and rolled off of my bed and to my feet. I staggered over to my closet and opened the door. Sora was sitting up from where he was lying, looking very confused. I kneeled down near him and waited for the tsunami of questions he was going to ask, but he only asked one question:

"That was Riku, wasn't it?" he asked in a sort of monotone which freaked me out. I could detect some anger also beneath his hoarse voice. I couldn't blame him . . .Riku was the one who caused all of this. I would probably want to kill him . . .I wonder if Sora wants to do that now?

"Yea . . .what he did was horrible . . .I'm so sorry . . ." I whispered hastily to him, looking down at the carpet and pulling at a stray piece sticking up from the rest. Sora chuckled in a dry sort of way that ended in a cough. I looked up worriedly . . .he shouldn't laugh with two broken ribs and a swollen stomach! But there he was . . .laughing as if he was 99 okay.

"Why are you apologizing?! You had nothing to do with it!" Sora exclaimed while smiling. He's talking better, which means that the pain had gone down and he is able to endure it. That's a good sign. I didn't know whether to smile back to hang my head in shame or something.

"I did have something to do with this all . . .I was the reason for your fight . . .I got you in this mess . . .and because of me . . ." I broke off for a second and looked him straight in the eyes.

" . . .You're in pain . . ."

"You are not the reason I am in pain . . .my own stubbornness is what caused this. You were just the tinder that lit the fire" He told me sternly. He made it sound like this whole incident was nothing at all. He made it seem as if it were a small bug that he can just brush away and carry on with his life.

"Listen to me . . ."

I wouldn't . . .

" . . .Don't cry . . ."

I couldn't stop.

"Everything is okay now . . ."

It wasn't.

The tears were once again rolling down my face uncontrollably. Sora was trying to comfort me, but it wasn't helping. I just felt so horrible that I was the "tinder that started the fire". I was so sick of being in the middle of everything! I'm causing people pain and devastation left and right and I'm not even trying it!

A cold hand grasped mine loosely and I looked up. I met Sora's bright blue eyes and it made me only want to turn away again. I wanted him to let go . . .

"Please . . .let go . . ." I whispered through my tears, but I wouldn't let my hand slip from his. Sora did not pull his hand away; he only grasped it tighter. I wanted to pull away, but his eyes were so fixed on mine in a serious way.

"Why . . .why are you doing this . . .?" I asked him weakly. Sora still continued to stare at me with that stern look. He reached his other hand out and grazed my tear-soaked cheek lightly. He pulled me close to him and softly laid his lips on my forehead. This gesture seemed like one of a father and daughter . . .it was so . . .

He pulled away and finally let go of my hand. Now, I wanted him to keep holding onto it. He shifted in his position and lay back down on the ground. He smiled at me one last time and then closed his eyes without a word. It all seemed awkward to me . . .how he just kisses my forehead and then falls back to sleep.

I, too, leaned back against my original wall and tried to close my eyes. This night had lasted forever and it seemed to be finally drawing to a close. In the morning, I will play sick and stay with Sora all day . . .just to make sure he was okay. The longest night ever was finally over . . .

. . . let the world rest without interruption . . .

A/N: YAY! Sorry it took me a while to update! I was being lazy and I kept coming up with writers' block for this chappie cuz it didn't follow exactly what I originally wrote out to happen. And, also, the whole stupid booting of my fic thing, too. Grr . . .Oh well, things even out.

::grins::

Well, I hope you all had a Happy New Years (and Holidays), cuz I know I did! It's 2005!!! Woot! Lets see if this year will be better than last year!!!!!

Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please

Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please

Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please

Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please

REVIEW THIS FIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

K-c


	6. Chemistry Fun

Unforeseen Attraction 

By: Kietah-chan (K-c)

A/N: Hey, everybody!! I'm so glad I got so many reviews!! Now it'll look like the idiotic incident with fanfiction never happened! ::suddenly turns evil:: ha….in your FACE !! You can NEVER stop K-c!! MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

::goes back to normal::

Uhh. . . .yea. Well, you all get lollipops for reviewing and helping me through my crisis!! ::hands out lollipops while wearing a dress:: The reason I'm in a dress: because I am. Hmm . . .Now, this chappie will be based around Yuna . . .so it's gonna be at school . . .but don't worry!! Still some Kairiness comes into the scene!! I know I left you all at some kind of a cliffie . . .so . . .i'm gonna wait 3 more days till I start!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

::sits down::

::three days pass::

Ok, here ya go!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts . . .I'm sad about that . . .except . . .that I can do THIS!! ::throws Taby-chan into a cluster of SquareSoft people:: MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!

SquareSoft Peoples: ::disperse!::

Taby: ::rubs head:: what the hell was that for? ::meow!::

K-c: ::grins::

Ch.6: Chemistry Fun 

Yuna's POV:

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other; my shoes were starting to get a little small for my feet. Rikku, who was standing nearby, kept smoothing down her flyaway blonde hair but to no avail, because the breeze from late last night was still blowing ceaselessly and it just kept sending her hair all around her face. To the other side of me, stood Selphie, whom kept nervously checking her watch and sighing in annoyance and worry.

We were waiting for Kairi as we usually did every morning for school. We would wait for her at the front doors until she comes skipping down the path towards us, then we all go in together. But today, she wasn't showing, which was obviously going to make us late if we waited any longer. Now, usually Kairi calls me in the morning if she wakes up sick or has to go to a doctor's appointment, but I didn't get a call this morning. I'm not the worrying type of girl most of the time, but there was this weird feeling sticking in my side whenever I thought about what could be keeping her.

A strong gust of wind sent our stupid uniform skirts to go flying in the air so we all immediately dropped our books to hold them down. Some nearby boys in our classes made whistling noises and I saw Selphie start to give them a dirty look when she noticed that Tidus was in the group. He wasn't partaking in any of the "sites"; he was looking away to the sky as if deep in thought. His beautiful blonde hair blew so gently in the wind, caressing his soft locks . . .

"Hey, Yuna! Earth to Yuna!"

I snapped out of my daydream. I looked back over at where Tidus was standing previously, but he was gone now, leaving my heart to sink low in my chest. Selphie was standing in front of me, a very confused and frustrated look on her usually sweet and innocent face.

"That was the bell! Come on! We're gonna be late!" Selphie reprimanded me. She looked over at Rikku who was suddenly looking off in the distance to where Kairi usually pops out of the path to get to school.

"What? What is it? Do you see her?" Selphie asked anxiously, running over to Rikku and standing beside her to see in her line of vision. Rikku shook her head ever so slightly and continued to stare blankly in the same direction, a small red glow forming on her cheeks.

"No . . .Riku . . ." she muttered quietly under her breath. That caught my attention. I looked in the direction my two friends were staring in and saw, indeed, a silver haired teen stomping along the path with his head down and his books clutched under his arm. Dust seemed to fly up around his feet as he scuffed them temperamentally on the ground, making him look even more startling than usual.

Selphie's pupils dilated a noticeable amount as they fixed on the approaching figure, but she did not blush . . .she was into Tidus . . .She moved away from blocking the doors into school so the apparently angry teen could stomp on by. I remained standing where I was, my eyes fixed on Riku who was now marching up the front steps towards us. He walked right towards me and stopped to face me. It took me by surprise how he was right in front of me . . .

"Don't be waiting for that little bitch today . . ." Riku growled under his breath at me, his face tilted towards the ground so that I couldn't see his eyes. I didn't say a word, I just continued to stare at him in amazement. What did he mean by that?

"But . . .do you know where Kairi is?" Selphie asked quietly and somewhat meekly from the place that she had shrunk off to, trying not to get too close to the infuriated and, in her eyes, dangerous boy. Riku didn't look at her, but I could tell that he had heard her because he made a sound that sounded somewhat of a laugh . . .but a . . .maniacal laugh?

"In hell, hopefully . . ."

The flirtatious smile on Rikku's face slowly vanished as her eyes followed his walking figure that pushed past me and into the building. She looked over at Selphie and I; a confused and frightened expression smothering her face. I returned the look and so did Selphie, but none of us said a word. Each of us seemed to be contemplating the situation in our own minds' . . .and not sharing it out loud.

The sudden and loud clanging of the late bell rang through the campus, causing all of us to jump abruptly into the air, and jerked me out of my thoughts. Selphie swooped down to seize her fallen books and flung open the front doors into the school. I saw her running down the hallway, and that was the last I saw of her for the entire day. Rikku, however, still continued to look confused and slowly picked up her books carefully, looking as if she were still deep in thought. She stepped lightly to the door and casually walked down the hall in a dream-like state.

I bent down to pick up my books, but there was already somebody there.

"What the--?!" I exclaimed, startled. I looked up from the hand and saw the glowing blue eyes of . . .Tidus. Oh no . . .He smiled at me and I immediately felt the annoying blush rise up in my cheeks. I remained frozen on the spot as he resumed his original task of picking up my books for me. I received them with dead and cold hands, the blush still lingering on my face. I wanted to hide . . .

"You . . .kinda need these . . ." he said coolly as I took them away from his hands. I clutched them to my chest as usual and finally looked away. Tidus also seemed nervous, but I didn't bother to ask. I was too focused on trying to hide my blush discreetly from him.

"Yea . . .um . . . thank you . . ." I felt my inner-conscience scolding me for acting so stupid. Why couldn't I have said something more interesting like: 'Wowy caboodle's! You sure are nicey-wicey!' Um . . .that would be scary, though . . . but just ANYTHING from a simple and boring 'Thank you'!!

There was an awkward silence between the two of us . . .

"HEY! YUNA! TIDUS! GET YER ASSES UP HERE TO CLASS! GOD DAMMIT! CAN'T YOU TELL TIME? OR ARE YOU DEAF?! YOU'RE 5 FREAKIN MINUTES LATE FOR CLASS! GET THE HELL UP HERE, LOVEBIRDS!!" Tidus and I both looked up immediately at the loud and very annoyed voice coming from above us. We saw our chemistry teacher, Miss Lulu sticking her head out of the window and glaring down at us and shaking her fist in fury. Some other teachers above her window poked their heads out to see what the commotion was. Tidus and I immediately sprinted into the building, down the hallway, and up the stairs. He could run faster than I could (plus, I was in a skirt), so he got there slightly before me.

When I entered the room, of course, all heads turned in my direction. Tidus was already slinking off to his seat near the windows so I was in the spotlight. Lulu closed the window and turned around to glare at me. Her gothy teacher outfit seemed in correlation with her attitude. It was probably "her time of month", so to speak, also.

"Take your seat, Miss Yuna," she ordered me, still giving me that burning glare. I stayed still for another moment, just frozen on the spot and flushing in my face from embarrassment. After I had regained control over my own body, I shuffled slowly down a row of desks to my seat near the back. I glanced over at Yuffie who sat a small way away from me and she gave me a reassuring smile and a thumbs up. Was she congratulating me on being late for class?

I quietly placed my books under my desk on the rack, trying not to make so much noise when, as I bent down, I noticed something. There were _two_ empty desks in the room. One of them belonged to Kairi who was obviously not coming to school today and the other belonged to Sora. Sora? He was absent too?

"Now, class," Lulu (who I have to refer as "Miss Lulu" because she's my teacher, even though I've known her for forever) started off her class, making me jump slightly out of my thoughts.

"We will be combining two very dangerous chemicals and acids together today. When these two acids are mixed together at the EXACT SAME TIME, it will transform into a drinkable healing potion . . ." Blah blah blah . . .I already knew how to make a health potion . . .

"So . . .uhh . . .get with your little partners . . .and . . .uhh . . . wait for instruction . . ." Lulu muttered uncertainly of herself. Sometimes I thought that she, herself, didn't know what to do. She was a great teacher, yes, but not a very assertive one.

There was a whole lot of bustle as chairs scraped the tiled floor. My classmates rose to their feet and headed over to their lab stations placed around the room. I remained where I sitting and stared directly out in front of me. I didn't know what to do . . .Kairi was my lab partner . . .My eyes broke away from Lulu's desk in which I was staring blankly at and I looked randomly around the room, searching for someone I could join in with.

"Is there a problem, Yuna?" I jumped out of seat abruptly. Lulu was standing right in front of me, looming over my desk and staring down at me with a curious look in her eyes. I looked up at my teacher and friend. She could now refer to me without "miss" in front of it because we were talking to each other informally. This school is like that . . .

I hesitated at first, unsure of how to put my thoughts into my own words, but then, as I glanced over to where Tidus usually sat, I saw that he, too, also was sitting in his seat with his head on the desk . . .I think asleep.

I took a deep breath. "Well, my lab partner, Kairi is absent today . . ." I finally told Lulu quietly, now looking back at her. Lulu sighed in an exaggerated way and slowly turned in Tidus's direction. A small smile formed on the corner of her black-lipsticked lips and she opened her mouth wide and hollered:

"WAKE UP!"

Tidus and several other innocent students jumped out of their skins at the sudden burst of sound. I heard that Yuffie and Rikku uttered little squeaks of surprise. Tidus shot up from his desk and to his feet, looking very alarmed and searching around quickly for the source of the shout. While he was in his frantic glory (A/N: I love that phrase . . . ), Lulu turned back to me and smiled in a satisfied way.

"There you go . . .Tidus will be your lab partner for today," she said in a very calm sort of way. She then glided back to her desk and stood behind it, giving me a look saying: "go on, then!".

Tidus and I exchanged brief glances to each other before I finally rose to my feet and walked slowly over to the lab station that I usually worked with Kairi. Some people were still staring at Tidus and me from the shouting earlier. I could my face flush from anticipation of actually working with Tidus. I just hoped he wouldn't notice . . .is it that obvious?

When I had finally reached the counter top, my hand started shaking so much that I had to grab the edge to prevent myself from falling over and my knees started to buckle as well. I heard his approaching footsteps behind me and with every step, it seemed to echo in my mind and be in synch with my pounding heartbeat. The blush that was growing steadily on my cheeks flared up more when he walked over to my side and stood there waiting for instruction.

Lulu started speaking again, but I couldn't hear her voice over the throbbing of my heart. I was tuned out from all instruction and I was hoping that Tidus was at least listening to what she was saying. But . . . he wasn't.

A hand shot out from nowhere and seized the beaker on our blue tray with a black and murky substance in it. He raised it up to his eyes and peered inside of it, trying to analyze what the hell it was. Part of me wanted to tell him to be careful not to spill any on himself, because it looked dangerous, but I believed that if I would have said anything, I wouldn't have been able to hear myself or anyone else hear me. I seemed to be locked in a dimension that nobody realized that I was there, and, still, all I could hear was the continuous beating of my heart growing louder and louder until—

"Tidus, do you wish to have that acid burn slowly through your stomach, drying all of your blood up in an instant while, in the process, disintegrate your very vital organs causing you to drop dead on this cold floor?" Lulu asked coolly from behind her desk. There was a moment of silence as everyone looked over at Tidus, including me. I had been ripped out of my "other dimension" at those strange words. I looked at Tidus's expression and saw the horror shining in his blue eyes that were now wide open. He slowly put the beaker back down on the tray with a shaking hand and looking at it as if it were going to jump up and attack him.

"I thought so . . .a very wise choice . . ." Lulu muttered under her breath, still glaring at Tidus, but then turned her eyes away from him and shuffled some papers around on her desk. I now looked over at Tidus who glanced at me in the same way. Lulu cleared her throat from the front of the room, which caused both of us to once again, turn in her direction.

"Now . . .we are going to be adding these acids. Watch closely," Lulu picked up the beaker full of the black substance in her left hand and the beaker full of blue substance in the other. She held the two over a larger glass for a moment or too, then she quickly poured the contents into the glass. Immediately, there was a bright flash of light and smoke billowing up into the air. A couple of the students gasped or even squeaked in surprise by the light and smoke. When the smoke of the haze started to vanish, all we saw was Lulu still standing in the same position with the two beakers still in her hands, covered from head to toe in black dust. There was a minute or two of silence before she slowly set the beakers down back onto the tray.

"Damn acids . . . why did this work for me when I tried this at my house? What did I do wrong? Hmm . . .I added the right acids, right? But then . . ." she muttered to herself under her breath quietly as she grabbed a towel and wiped off her face. Everybody continued to stare open-mouthed at our obviously stressed and unprepared teacher while she cleaned herself up.

When she was once again in her normal gothic-glory, she cleared her throat and gave the remaining staring students glares saying loud and clear: 'Forget you ever saw that, or I will make sure you will!'.

"Woah! Mon! Too hot, ya!" Every eye turned now onto Wakka's direction whom was flailing around aimlessly . . .completely caught on fire. He wasn't listening . . .or watching . . .Wakka staggered about crazily while students ran out of his way as he hurried by. Nobody did anything to help stop the fire . . .we just watched in awe . . .

Wakka neared the open 3rd story window, and, before we could warn him, he fell out. We could all hear his screams on the way down and then suddenly a splash of water from the fountain below. All was silent as Lulu walked casually over to the window and shut it. She walked back over to he desk and smiled in a cruel and satisfied way. (A/N: oh god, I just HAD to do that to him . . . )

"Now, then, plan B . . ."

LATER

I had just finished writing the last of my observations on the cricket in the odd blue bubble on our tray and laid my pencil down with a sigh of relief. This petty substitute for our once extravagant experiment bored my mind, making me think more than I really wanted. I heard a small and quiet laugh coming from beside me and looked over to see Tidus staring at me. His sudden attention in me caught me by surprise and made me blush, once again.

"You look really cute when you're mad . . ." he muttered quietly under his breath. He almost didn't seem to be saying it to me, even though he was staring directly at me. His beautiful ocean-blue eyes looked glazed over and he took on the appearance of being in a trance. I blushed even more furiously and didn't say anything (what was there to say?!).

"HEY, TIDUS!" Wakka came up from behind him and slapped him on the back. Immediately, Tidus snapped out of this little daydream and looked paranoid. He glanced over at me and saw my embarrassment on my face and I could read his expression: 'Did I just say that out loud?'. It seemed cute . . .

The slightly charred Wakka grinned annoyingly at the confused and embarrassed Tidus and then noticed me. "So, you two are lab partners, eh?" he asked even though he knew the answer, jabbing me in the rib (almost my boob . . .). I smiled as sweetly as I could, even though I just wanted him to go away so I can talk to Tidus alone. Tidus acted like he was reading my mind when he told Wakka to leave us alone for a bit. I couldn't help but to smile gratefully at him. After he had lumbered away over to Yuffie to flirt, Tidus looked up at me.

"So . . .are we done looking at this stupid cricket yet?" He asked me with a smile on his face, pointing his pencil in the direction of the bubble. I giggled and nodded my head. Tidus gave a sigh of relief and hoisted himself on top of the lab counter, and looked at the ceiling thoughtfully. I shifted nervously in my position, wanting to ask a question. I wanted to hop up on the counter with him, but . . .skirts aren't nice like that. (A/N: and we all hate them for that! )

"Um . . .can I ask you a question?" I asked him quietly, kicking my feet around playfully while not making eye contact. I could still feel the flaming blush still lingering on my cheeks, it making me want to hide away forever. Why am I always cursed?!

"Sure,"

"Well . . .what do you think happened to Kairi? I mean, she always calls me in the morning to let me know if she's sick or she has some kind of appointment . . .so . . .where is she?" I asked rather quickly, spilling it all out of me in a wave of words. When I looked up, I met those beautiful eyes. I wanted to look away but, once again. I was trapped.

"Probably in the same place where Sora is . . ." he answered me thoughtfully, now averting his eyes to the ceiling again. I wondered why he wouldn't look at me . . .but then again . . .I wasn't really looking at him either.

"Why do you think they're in the same place?"

"Dunno . . .They just seem to like each other . . ."

"Are you kidding me? Kairi hates Sora!"

"Just my thoughts . . .I just think that maybe something happened . . ."

"Oooo . . .you thinking what I'm thinking?"

I jumped at this new voice coming from behind me. I spun around to see Rikku grinning at me. She hopped up on the counter despite her skirt and swung her legs back and forth. I smiled at her in a way that showed annoyance, disbelief, and friendship. Tidus looked blankly at Rikku then sighed to himself. He put his head down so that his gorgeous blonde locks shielded his radiant eyes from my longing sight . . . (A/N: Yuna has GOT to stop reading romance novels . . . )

"You have the dirtiest mind, Rikku," I murmured at her while smiling. She grinned back at me innocently and jumped down from the counter. She walked over to where Tidus was sitting and peered up into his face, trying to read his expression.

"Well, what do you think?" She asked him, still trying to see his face. Tidus lifted his head back up and smiled down at her. I felt a sudden pang of jealousy in my heart even though I knew that her interests in guys did not move in his direction. I just didn't like the way they were smiling sweetly at each other.

"I think you're mental . . .but may be right," he said, still smiling. I cleared my throat a little too loudly and they both looked my way. I smiled and pointed to my throat to show that I had a "sore throat". Rikku gave an expression that said: "OHH!! Ok!" and Tidus just grinned.

"This is chemistry lab not 'Match-Maker' . . ." I turned around and saw Lulu standing behind me, looking very annoyed. I didn't know what to say, but I then saw a small smile on the corner of her mouth. My friend continued to walk by and observed Aerith's stuff.

"Yuna . . ."

I looked up and saw that Tidus wasn't on the counter top anymore, but was standing right in front of me. I didn't look away, but stared directly into his eyes. His face was now full of seriousness and I felt like I was going to melt. The blush was growing again . . .

"If you really feel that something is not going right, would you be willing to go see her?" He asked me, his face still serious. I didn't exactly know what he meant, but I had a good guess. I could see Rikku in the background hopping up and down, trying to listen in on our conversation eagerly.

"You mean . . .skip classes?" I asked him quietly. It seemed almost like a game of trying to keep Rikku out of this conversation, and it was obviously annoying her because she kept making irritated noises under her breath. Tidus nodded his head solemnly.

Skipping school . . .I've never done such a thing. I guess you could say I was a goody-goody when it came to some things. The thought of truancy never crossed my mind before. Now that it popped in this conversation, the thought needed to be reconsidered slightly. Maybe this was a good idea. I mean, we won't get caught . . .I know that Riku skips school many times. He's never gotten caught. I nodded my head in agreement to this suggestion. Tidus smiled and winked at me. Oh god . . .My legs are going to collapse right underneath me!

Rikku faced me with an annoyed expression set tight on her features. I smiled innocently at her, which only made her look more irritated.

"What are you guys planning and why am I not in on this?!" she asked us, looking from Tidus to me and back and forth, demanding answers. I sighed and resigned not to tell her and I thought that Tidus was going to also, but he, instead told her our plan and its' reason. A small smile formed on the corner of her pink lips and it slowly turned into a grin when he had finished telling her quietly, making sure nobody around us could listen in.

"Oh please, oh please, can I come too?!" she squealed with delight and bounced up and down, her lips in a little pout. I rolled my eyes with a smile on my face. She's so whiny . . .just like a little kid . . .

"Yea, sure. But listen, Rikku . . ." Tidus's voice became serious and harsh. Rikku stopped bouncing up and down in anticipation when she heard the sudden change of tone of voice and fixed her mien for the appropriate mood. Tidus was obviously trying to make a point clear. "Don't tell ANYBODY about this, ok? This is a secret and I trust you can keep them, right?"

Rikku hesitated for a moment, then nodded her head and gave the peace sign with her fingers. "You can count on Rikku!" Tidus and I both sighed in exasperation. She IS like a little kid.

Out of nowhere, the bell signaling the end of class rang through the room and hallways, causing a sudden flurry of moment and chatter to sweep across the room as students everywhere hurried back to their desks and shoved their stuff in their bags. Tidus and I exchanged brief glances before he mouthed the words: 'Meet me by the gym, bring Rikku,' I nodded my head as I bustled over to my desk and shoved my papers and pencil into my black shoulder bag. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Tidus and Rikku were also hurrying to leave the room. I slung my bag over my shoulder and joined the stream of students cramming out of the room and into the hallway. In the process, I seized Rikku's arm and pulled her along with me.

Once outside of the classroom, I ignored the calls from my friends and walked with haste over to where the locker rooms were, dragging Rikku along whom wanted to stop and talk to her friends. Aerith, a girl in the gym class four periods before mine, stopped and looked at Rikku and me while she was walking into the girls' locker room.

"Hey, Yuna! Rikku! I thought you had gym 5th period!" she called from across the hallway to me. I didn't stop to look at her, nor did I answer her. Rikku tried to open her mouth to bid her 'hello's', but I yanked her away from Aerith and towards the gym doors, right beside the back doors to our school. I finally let go of Rikku's arm and leaned up against the cool wall. As I looked outside, I saw that it was still very windy but sunny, nonetheless. Rikku gave a small sigh of impatience and worry (I think) when the late bell sounded.

"Get over here!" I whispered loudly over to the blonde girl who was drifting aimlessly out into the hallway. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her up against the wall, so no passing-by teachers would see us. A few minutes of suspended silence passed by before any sight of Tidus could be seen. Then, finally, the blonde haired, blue eyed angel came waltzing casually over to us. He smiled when he saw that I had followed his silent orders and stood beside us, him, too, pressed against the wall.

"Are you ready?"

I nodded my head along with Rikku who looked so anxious; she looked about to burst. Tidus walked over to the door and slowly pushed it open, causing a sudden gust of wind to blow through the hall. I held my skirt down and so did Rikku but Tidus was already out.

"Come on! Hurry before the teachers notice!" he somewhat whispered over the wind. He held his hand out for me to take, and I hesitated. Slowly I grabbed his hand and he yanked me out onto the school grounds. I turned and saw that he did the same to Rikku and he slowly forced the door shut against the powerful wind. The sun beamed down upon me, and the wind continued to blow through my hair, causing my long ponytail and my earring to whip around.

A warm hand quickly grasped mine and I was being pulled along by none other than Tidus. He looked around at me and smiled, obviously happy that I pulled through with this plan. I smiled meekly back at him, the nagging feeling of getting caught clogging my lungs. Rikku ran alongside of us, grinning like there was no tomorrow. We had just reached the dirt path when I looked back at the school. Inside of the windows, I could see bored students either sleeping or about to fall asleep in their classes. This only made me smile and think 'I'm so glad I'm not you right now'.

We turned onto the path and continued to run, Tidus still pulling me by the hand and my feet and legs starting to get tired. I saw up ahead in the distance Kairi's big, white house. My heart leapt at the sight. There I would hopefully find out what was going on.

I'm almost there . . .

A/N: YAY! Sorry that took forever and a day! I made this chappie really really long! " ::giggles nervously:: Well, I hope you like it, because if you don't . . .NO SOUP FOR YOU! Lol. ::brandishes a bowel of ramen:: Just a couple of weeks ago, I discovered the yumminess of ramen! So . . .Yea. please R&R!!!

K-c


	7. Uncovered Truth

Unforeseen Attraction  
By: K-c 

A/N: OH YEA! I'm very glad that everybody liked my chappie! Well, in this one, some odd stuff happens. I'm extremely stressed out, though, lately! My friends Ari and Fa-Talony suddenly and spontaneously discovered how wonderful my fic is(:mutters: yea right . . .), and are now throwing endless ideas at me! I come home from school every day with at least four notes in my pockets :sigh: So . . .we planned out this fic to chappie 13! AND I'M ONLY ON CH. 7! GAH:calms down: Well, I just felt like telling everyone that . . .Sorry for the wait, projects came flying out of nowhere cuz it's the beginning of the second semester . . .:sigh: I hate school. But now I'm here and ready to type! Yay! Here ya go!

Disclaimer: I do not own KH or their characters . . .Je suis desole . . .je ne sais pa . . . (french) TUE LE!

Ch. 7: Uncovered Truth 

Yuna's POV:

"And how in the heck are you planning on getting inside, mister 'I-know-everything-about-the-world'?"

Tidus looked around at Rikku who was sitting cross-legged on a nearby boulder, pouting and looking very impatient. I couldn't read the expression on his face, but I sensed some slight annoyance as he walked over to the side of Kairi's white house and peered up at it thoughtfully. I stayed where I stood, not wanting to interrupt his thoughts that seemed obviously deep. A quick gust of wind swooped on by, lifting my skirt up again, and I held it down irritably. Rikku gave a loud sigh of impatience from behind me and I ignored her. My eyes drifted over to Tidus again; whom was now tugging on the gray gutter that hung down from the roof. He wasn't planning to climb on that, was he?

"Okay, you first,"

I looked up and saw that he was directing the order to me. Confusion swept over my mind as his blue eyes locked with mine. 'Oh yea, sure . . .make me go first . . . ' I thought in a somewhat bitter way. I had a feeling that he wasn't just going to let me climb up that flimsy gutter without some kind of aid, but he sure didn't mention that. It didn't seem quite right for me to climb this thing in the dumb skirt I was wearing, nor did it seem right for him to be right behind me as I climbed. Ah, but what the hell.

I walked slowly over to where the gutter hung down near the ground and waited hopefully for a 'don't worry, it's safe' look, but I didn't receive any. I grabbed the cool metal with my left hand and then looked up. It seemed further than what it really was when you were looking up at it like this. The small little window that swung out was placed slightly to the right of the gutter, and it would be quite a trial trying to get through it. I hoisted myself up with my other hand and my legs and felt the slightly unstable metal give an uneasy wobble. I continued to pull myself upwards, though, until I heard Tidus starting to climb up behind me. The far away window was getting closer and closer and I now felt and heard Rikku join in the climbing procession.

When the window was eye length with me, I stretched out over to peer inside. Through the thick class, I saw Kairi's casual room on the other side. I didn't find sight of her anywhere, which only forced my blood to rush some more. I did notice one thing, though, and that was that her closet door was opened. A dim light spilled out from within and shone in patches on her purple carpet.

"Is something wrong?" Tidus called from below. I looked around and saw both of them eagerly hanging on below. Tidus' face was flushed (I think he was blushing because he could see my panties), which made me hasten to get inside. I reached out far and pushed open the lock on the outside, causing the panes to pull out. I ducked underneath them and grabbed the ledge tightly. Making sure that my grip was firm, I swung around onto the windowsill. I clambered over the ledge and landed softly in Kairi's room. The room was dim, with not much light coming through the window. The only light that I saw clearly was the one coming from inside of her walk-in closet.

I heard a quiet movement coming from behind the door to the closet, and I started to walk towards it when a hand behind me grabbed my shoulder. I spun around to see Tidus standing behind me, staring at the closet and Rikku coming into the room from the window. I could tell that he saw the confused and worried look on his face because his hand slowly slid off of my shoulder so gently and he walked quietly over to the closet door. I followed closely behind and I heard Rikku nearby, too. As we neared the door, my heart started to pound and I started to dread what I was going to see.

"Oh my God . . ." Tidus muttered under his breath when he could peer inside. His tone made my blood rush and I hurried beside him to see what was shocking him so. Inside I saw a sight that both confused and infuriated me. Sora was lying on the floor covered in a blanket. There was dried blood surrounding his head and in his brown hair and bruises covered his pale face. His mouth was partly open in what seemed a deep sleep, but something tingled inside of my veins telling me that this was no sleep of the innocent.

" . . .Sora . . .?"

KAIRI'S POV:

With every step I took the water in the cup sloshed around and almost spilled out and over the rim. I tried my hardest to not spill a drop to leave evidence for my way-too-suspicious mother, but it was hard because I was climbing the stairs. I didn't get hardly any sleep last night so my legs kept wobbling underneath me and I just wanted to fall down and sleep. I couldn't, though; I had a job to do. But why the hell was I even committing myself to this degrading post? What the hell is driving me to do this?

I sighed irritably to myself as I continued to march up the endless stairs to my room. Some water spilled out of the glass and splashed all over my hand. I cursed under my breath and turned the corner to the hallway. I rounded the corner into my room and didn't bother to turn on the lights. It wouldn't make a difference anyway. Something caught my eye, though, as I glanced up ahead of me. I saw a long braided ponytail sticking out from inside of my closet door. Brown hair stuck out from the bottom of it.

Panic immediately seized my mind and body as I dropped the glass onto the carpet. 'Oh God! It's Yuna!' I thought through all of my franticness. I ran over to the closet and jerked open the door to see not one person, but three sitting on my floor and now looking up at me. Two faces were full of anger and one was of pity. Yuna leapt to her feet and shook my shoulders in fury.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT HE NEEDS HOSPITAL CARE?" she shouted into my face, her normally pale complexion blooming red. I was still recovering from the shock of the situation, that nothing seemed to register. I didn't say a word; I just looked past her face and at Tidus and Rikku who were staring up at us. My eyes focused back on Yuna and the words came back into my mouth.

"He doesn't need anymore help! I'm taking perfectly fine care of him!" I somewhat calmly told her, even though I could hear my own voice raising in sudden anger. Yuna squeezed my shoulders so tight, I almost cried out. Her face was so full of wild fury-I didn't understand why . . .

"So this is what you've been doing all day, huh? 'Taking care' of him when he so obviously needs help besides yours! Kairi, you stupid bitch! HE COULD DIE!" She screamed shrilly into my face. I could notice something else visible in her expression. I saw worry. My eyes drifted over to Sora who was now stirring and about to wake. I didn't mean to hurt him . . .I just felt like this was like paying off my debt of putting him in serious danger . . .I didn't know that his life was on the line . . .Sora . . .I'm so sorry!

"Yuna! That's enough! Please, just leave her alone. She probably has had the worst day ever and she doesn't need you to make it any more horrible," Tidus told Yuna calmly and pulled her away from me. Sore marks burnt into my flesh from where her tight grip was once. He guided her back inside of the closet and made her sit down. I saw her exchange another furious glare at me, though I saw some tears shining in her two-coloured eyes. I slowly walked into the closet, trying not to step on anybody because it was starting to get crowded.

Rikku looked at me with sad eyes and then back at Sora. "Poor Sora . . ." she whispered softly under her breath and stroked his hair in a caring way. They all treated him like a child. He was definitely not a little boy by the way he gave Riku a black eye and other wounds. He could care for himself, but right now he needed me. I gazed into his pale face and saw that his eyes were about to open. I sat down beside him and pulled the blanket up to his chest. His body felt warm and alive . . .not the cold dead one I brought back here last night. His eyelids gently opened to reveal those stunning blue eyes that I saw everytime I fell asleep. He blinked a few times, then, getting the feeling that he wasn't alone; he sat up abruptly and met all of our eyes.

"Um . . .what the hell are you guys doing here?" Sora asked quietly to nobody in particular. Rikku immediately wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. Sora looked taken aback and thoroughly confused by this attention he was receiving. A sharp pang hit my side and I rubbed it curiously. It didn't seem external . . .almost internal . . .was it . . .jealousy?

Rikku pulled away, leaving a still confused Sora staring around at us, his eyes pleading for answers. Then, all eyes turned to me. Oh no . . .did they want answers from me? What should I say? I don't want to tell them that Riku was the one who caused this pain . . .I don't want them to go after him . . .After all, I still love him dearly no matter what he did even though it was horrible. I just can't leave him alone . . .I'll lie.

"Tell us what happened, Kairi," Tidus ordered me sternly. There was no use of beating around the bush . . . I had to come up with a lie . . .and fast. I shifted nervously in my position, feeling the heat from all of their stares boring into my eyes. Oh, come on! Think!

"Well, Sora told me that he was out walking late at night because he was looking for a book he had dropped on his way home . . ." I lied somewhat casually, combining all of our stories into one, big, messy lie. " . . .And then . . .he tripped over a rock . . .and . . .hit his head! Yea! That's it . . .and . . .then . . .I found him . . .and took him back to my house where I gave him care until he got better," I stumbled around uncertainly with Sora nodding his head in false agreement and adding in an occasional "Yea!" After I had finished, the confused looked convinced, but Tidus still appeared skeptical.

"Why were you out last night, though?" He asked me curiously. My mind was out of excuses. I started to mumble something when Sora cut my off.

"She was just out taking a walk because she couldn't go to sleep . . ."

"Yea! That's it!" I hurriedly exclaimed, trying to put on my most convincing expression. Sora and I exchanged glances and I felt a rush of gratitude towards him just then and there. He actually helped me out with my lying . . .maybe he's not so bad afterall . . .

Tidus and Rikku nodded their heads, but Yuna stayed still. I could see some more disbelief on her face, but she didn't say a word. I let out the deep breath that I had been holding in for the past 2 minutes. Well, that nightmare that I had been dreading was finally over, but . . .it looks like Yuna still needs more evidence.

Tidus and Rikku bid their farewells to Sora and me and when they started to leave, Yuna stayed where she was. I can't believe that my pathetic lie convinced Tidus and Rikku. Maybe they were just leaving to do their homework or go to some party. I knew that they would bring up the subject at some other time, and then I would have to tell the truth. I don't like lying . . .plus, I'm not very good at it.

The soft click of my windowpanes signaled their departure and silence greeted the three of us in the dim closet. Yuna didn't say a word, neither did Sora and I, but the suspense was growing so incredibly, I wanted to shout or something, just to make a sound. I threw a few uneasy glances towards Yuna, but she had her head down and was pulling on the one strand of carpet that stuck up absentmindedly. I got the sudden of image of me sitting where she was last night, doing the same thing and regretting everything that had happened. It was there that I had fallen into a restless slumber and where the horrible and unthinkable thought crossed my mind concerning Sora and a strong feeling.

A deep sigh escaped her lips and I could sense anger hiding within it. I still had the hunch that her sudden burst of anger towards me wasn't fully recovered just yet. The awkward and suspended silence was driving me insane and I wanted to shake the words out of her. Sora looked over to his left and searched the floor for whatever could amuse his mind when his eyes locked on something in the corner near him. A pair of my pink poka-dotted panties. Sora's eyes grew wide and I quickly snatched them up and threw them in the laundry basket, my face flushing with embarrassment. I saw a faint glow on his cheeks as well, also some disappointment. Boys will be boys . . .

"So . . .what really happened last night?" Yuna finally asked in a soft and restrained tone. My eyes drifted back over to her and she still wouldn't look at me. It kind of hurt me that she was acting so cold towards me. I couldn't exactly blame her, though; I did do something kind of crazy. I wasn't going to lie this time . . .Yuna is one of my best friends and she listens to me everytime I have a troubled situation, so I can at least tell her this.

"I was out walking because I had to clear my head . . ." Sora spoke up suddenly. I figured that he was going to tell his side of the story, which made me breathe a sigh of relief. " . . .When Riku came by. We started to talk and he mentioned something about me liking—"

I looked at him curiously, wondering why he stopped and saw a red glow on his cheeks. He quickly ducked away and there was another awkward moment of silence. Yuna cleared her throat impatiently, wanting him to continue, but I remained wondering. 'Liking—' . . .what does that mean? Could it possibly mean that he likes me? Phh . . .yea right . . .I'd kick his ass if I ever found that out . . .I don't want Sora liking me . . .that's creepy . . .

"Go on . . ."

"We started talking just as we usually do when he mentioned the thing that happened earlier that day, and by then, I was so sick of people commenting that my anger was let free and pushed him backwards. We started to argue, and then it turned violent. Before I knew it, we were throwing punches in the dark. That's when he kicked me down and knocked me unconscious, but not before kicking me seven times in the gut. Then . . .we just left me there . . .that's all I can remember . . .I woke up here . . ." Sora spoke in a gentle and quiet tone, sadness with the occasional anger mingling in his voice. His eyes were to the floor and I saw some tears welling up inside of those blue pools. I wanted to embrace him, but my body would not move. It was my turn to throw in my side of the story.

"Well, I was out walking because I was looking for my book that I had dropped when . . .er . . .something happened . . ." I broke off, not wanting to tell them about the whole Riku situation. It was too embarrassing and plus, I didn't want to relive it.

"I heard someone coughing up ahead on the road, and I looked around a boulder to see Sora . . ." I continued to tell her about how I dragged his lifeless body up the path and into my room. Yuna would not meet my eyes, but I could tell that she was listening intently. When I had finished, her eyes met mine.

"Why did you lie to us?"

I knew that that question was going to pop up at sometime. I hadn't prepared an excuse, so I just decided to use an honest answer. Even if the answer I were about to say would ruin Riku forever; it was a chance I had to take. I could trust Yuna . . .I have trusted her for the past 13 years . . .through all of my horrible times . . .she was there . . .she has a right to know what's going on.

"I didn't want Riku getting hurt . . ."

LATER

With Yuna gone, Sora and I were once again alone. There was a brief moment of silence before Sora gave a dry cough. I immediately regretted dropping the glass I was going to give him. I left the room to retrieve another and when I came back with an unspilled glass, he drank it gratefully. After he placed the emptied glass on the carpet, he turned to look at me. I was expecting to see a smile or some other form of happiness, but the only thing I saw was fury.

"Riku has crossed the line with this one . . .I can't take being pushed around by him anymore!" he shouted in an irate tone. I didn't know what to say. I agreed with him all the way that this was a horrible thing that Riku had done, but . . .I felt like I still wanted to protect him from any harm . . .but here I was sitting beside a boy that was trashed by Riku. I had nothing to say that wouldn't come out wrong.

"Kairi . . .I want revenge . . ."

Revenge . . .revenge . . .revenge . . .the word seemed to echo through my head. My mind knew that it was a horrible thing to do to somebody who hurt you . . .but there seemed no way of talking Sora out of it. He had that determined look on his face and I knew that no words would wipe it off of him. What if Sora did indeed get revenge for Riku's actions . . .then what? It would only end up in more pain . . .and that doesn't solve anything. I didn't want Sora to get hurt again . . .because I had that funny feeling that Riku would just pound the shit out of him and leave him to die again.

"I don't think that you—"

"You can't change my mind, Kairi! Listen to me, I have to make Riku pay for what he did to me . . .the only way I can, though, is to beat it into him!"

Yup, I knew that reasoning wouldn't change him mind. He talked so tough for a 16 year-old lying on the floor with a bruised and swollen stomach. I almost smiled at his ego . . .

"Just . . .please promise me . . ." I dropped my voice to barely a whisper even though we were the only people here. My eyes drifted to the floor and I stared intently into it, as if it was going to help me through this dilemma. Tears started to rise into my eyes and I blinked them away, causing them to roll down my cheeks like miniature waterfalls. Sora didn't say anything, which made me very glad. I didn't need comfort right now . . .I just had to say the words that were hanging on my heart.

"Just promise me that you won't get hurt . . .okay?" I asked him, looking back up at his face, the tears still continuing to roll out of my eyes. Just cry . . .I've been holding it in for way too long now . . .Sora's expression soften quite a deal when he saw my sadness and worry. He moved close towards me and reached a hand up to my face. His cold fingers grazed my cheek and only caused more tears. I didn't need comfort . . .I only needed him to be safe . . .

"Don't worry . . ."

His warm breath fell over my face as his eyes slowly closed and he neared me closer, still. I didn't move and my eyes closed halfway. My senses didn't seem intact at this situation occurring. The next thing I knew, his warm lips gently brushed up against mine, but did not lock. It was just a sweet . . .innocent . . .kiss. He kissed me. Sora kissed me. After that sweet encounter, he moved in closer to kiss me again only more secure when I heard the front door downstairs slam shut and footsteps echo through the hallway below.

Sora and I immediately moved away from each other and remained perfectly still, trying so hard not to stir because every little sound you make upstairs is heard downstairs. He gave me a worried and concerned glance, but I was still stuck in a little daydream. The boy who I can somewhat hardly stand lightly kissed me. It hadn't been full of passion, which I was glad about, but . . .it was still there . . .

We remained unmoving for a half-hour when it turned 4:30. At that time, I slowly and as quietly as I could, left the closet and closed the door so I could change. I grabbed my uniform from off of the floor and changed as quickly as possible, did my hair neatly and grabbed my backpack. I had done something like this earlier this morning. I had left my house as usual and then waited behind a rock in a grove until I saw my mom's car pull out of the driveway. When she was out of sight, I crept back into my room to stay with Sora. So now I was doing this again.

I unlatched my window and crept carefully out onto the roof and lowered myself down by the gutter near my window. I landed on the ground gracefully and scurried over to the path from which I come from school. I started to walk up the path towards my house and act tired from a long day of school. I neared my front door and pushed it open to see my mom standing in the kitchen reading a cookbook. She looked up at me when I came inside, kicked off my shoes and shut the door.

"Hello, honey. How was your day at school?" she asked me sweetly while giving me a hug. I smelled that flowered perfume that was easy to recognize.

"Boring as usual . . ." I lied casually, wriggling out of her embrace. I walked over to the sink and poured myself a glass of water. God, was I thirsty. My mom continued to ask me her usual after-school questions and I bore it, but then, I was dismissed up into my room. I hurried up the stairs and rounded the corner to my room and back into my closet where Sora still lay.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked him quietly, still not wanting my mom to hear us. Sora nodded his head and I felt satisfied.

I went down around 6:00 to eat dinner and brought Sora a roll and a bit of chicken. I knew that tonight he would have to leave and go back to his house. I have wondered why his parents haven't thought about him, but when I asked, he said that he lives alone. I thought that that was pretty tragic . . .but . . .I didn't say that aloud. Sora would have to leave late at night when my mom was sleeping. Him and I talked for a while, quietly though, and when night fell and we grew tired, he bid goodnight for the meantime and fell asleep. I set my alarm clock to go off at 2:00 AM so that he could sneak out easily.

I shivered unintentionally and rolled onto my side. Another cold breeze wafted over me and this time I opened my eyes. I had to blink a few times and also to adjust to the darkness of my room. I swung my legs around to the side of the bed and stepped over to the closet. I opened the door and didn't turn on the light. Where Sora had been laying . . .was empty. There was no form lying on the ground; just a pile of messed up blankets. Before I could fully panic, another cold breeze blew through me and I spun around to see the window wide open. I ran over to it and leaned out over the edge, scanning the ground for any signs of movement. I didn't see any . . .he was probably long gone. My digital clock shone 12: 27 AM.

I pulled on a black jacket I had lying around on the floor over my uniform that I hadn't changed out of from earlier. Slipping my feet into some knee-high boots by my door, I hurried over to my window and hoisted myself out of it cautiously. I didn't bother to shut my window as I hastily landed on the cold and hard ground, feeling a stinging sensation rise through my legs because I had jumped the last 6 feet. After I had regained feeling in my feet, I started to run as fast as my high-heels would allow. I had no idea where I was going; I was just using all of my senses to detect any sort of disturbance.

Sora, you promised!

A/N: YAY! I'm sorry that that chappie might have been boring. I tried to add in so much stuff. Well, this chappie was quite short compared to some of my others . . .I hope that that didn't disappoint y'all:grins maniacally: HOWD'YA LIKE THE CUTE SCENE WITH SORA AND KAIRI! I thought I would give y'all a little teaser on stuff. Now, don't be thinking that the final pairing is going to be S/K . . .remember: Kairi says that she still likes Riku . . .what a hard core girl to still be in love with somebody who beat the shit outta someone else".

So . . .next chappie will have SOOO much more action! (As you can probably guess!) you'll just have to wait until next update (which I hope will be soon . . .all of my projects are now done . . .:sigh of relief:)

Luv y'all so please review! Make me feel happy that you liked this chappie!

K-c


	8. Sweet and Terrible Revenge

Unforeseen Attraction  
By: K-c 

A/N: Hi, everyone! Guess what! Now that I have finally finished chappie 7 . . .Ari, Fa-Talony and I all planned out this fic to chappie 16! Woo! This will be my longest fic ever:dances: I'm soooo grateful for you people who have stuck with this fic:teary eyes: I love you guys so much! My goal for this fic is to receive 100 reviews! I hope you guys will help me with that! And, like I promised, this one will have WAY MORE ACTION! Are you ready? You better be cuz HERE YA GO!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this fic, which I hope to someday be some sort of animator . . .doubt it though . . .I'll probably be the singer on all of the soundtracks:sings horribly off-key: uhh . . .like I said . . .PROBABLY . . .

Ch. 8: Sweet and Terrible Revenge

Kairi's POV:

"Dammit!" I muttered under my breath irritably as I fell for the third time since I had jumped out of my window. I wasn't paying too much attention to where I was running, I was just blindly stumbling about; looking and listening for any signs of disrupt. So far, the only thing I saw was the continuous flash of dark dirt underneath my booted feet and I could only hear the continuous pounding of my heart as I exerted myself to run faster and faster.

An owl's hoot sounded from above me, which surprised me. I didn't know that I could hear other things over my heart . . .it seemed so loud that the whole neighborhood could hear it in their sleep. Finally, I slowed myself to a stop and felt my feet throb with gratitude. These boots weren't made for running full-long distances in, and now I was regretting that I slipped these on.

I rested my hands on my knees and panted heavily, trying to regain my lost breath. After my heart rate had returned to its normal pace, I started to worry about where Sora could possibly be. He promised me that he wouldn't go and get himself hurt again . . .I hoped that he wasn't breaking his promise even though I had a funny feeling that he was. This only made me even more furious at him. I stomped my foot angrily on the ground and cursed as the pain throbbed up my leg. Maybe this run in the night was for nothing . . .he could have just left for his house and didn't bother to wake me . . .but no . . .that didn't seem right. Sora was so set on getting revenge for what Riku did to him that seeking him out for a brawl seemed to be the only reasonable action in his eyes.

The sudden change of wind caught my attention as it blew through and around me, causing my legs to go numb. These spring nights at this area are always so chilly. I lifted my head up and stared around me. Darkness engulfed every which way I looked and I felt suffocated by it. I felt like if I were to close my eyes . . .I would be eaten alive by all sorts of hauntings . . .

_Crash!_

My head immediately snapped in the direction from where the sound came from. I squinted around in desperation to see any signs of movement. I didn't see any, but then I heard a muffled shout coming from far away. I couldn't make out what it was saying, but I recognized the voice from anywhere . . .Riku . . .It was Riku! I knew where he lived so I started to cut through the woods from the path in the direction of his house. Twigs scraped my legs and I must have tripped about 20 times until I reached the edge of the patch of woods from which I had blindly ran through, just trying to stop any fighting that I knew was going on. Riku's house appeared in front of me and I saw a light shining from inside of his garage and shadows moving around, too. I stumbled over to his garage and to the window along the side of it next to the door to the back of his house.

I pressed my hands up against the cool glass and peered inside the foggy window to see what was going on inside. At first, I couldn't make out anything at all, but then a shadow passed in front of the window and I recognized his outline at once—it was Riku. His shadow moved out of my sight, but I suddenly saw another join him and, what looked like, knocked him to the ground. Another shout rang through the area, but this time, it was from Sora. I wanted to run inside, but my legs were not moving. They felt like they were cemented to the ground I was standing on, and no matter how much I urged myself to break up the fight, they wouldn't move.

_"TELL ME!_"I heard Sora shout at the top of his lungs. I heard a muffled sound and I couldn't figure out what Riku was saying, but it obviously wasn't what Sora wanted to hear, because next thing I heard was a slam and breaking glass. There was silence, as I stood in horror, unable to see what was happening inside. My feet started to regain some life in them when I heard a groan of pain that I think escaped the lips of Riku.

I broke off into a run to the door nearby and flung it open as quickly as I could and the light from within spilled all over me. The overhead lamp was swinging dangerously; casting shadows over the walls and broken glass scattered the floor. Boxes were knocked over and tables overturned; their contents lying on the floor along with everything else. I scanned the room briefly before my eyes settled upon Sora and Riku who were nearby. Sora had Riku pinned up against the wall with a hammer in his left hand and his right hand pressing hard into Riku's shoulder. Riku looked frightened and badly beaten: His head was bleeding and his lip bloody. He also held his arm in a funny way.

"SORA!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, trying to stop him from smashing Riku over the head with the hammer. Sora spun around to face me and I saw the blood from a nosebleed running down his chin and on his shirt. His shirtsleeve was also ripped and I saw a gash hiding underneath. His expression seemed to waver between full fury and surprise as he looked at me; the hammer still raised in his hand. Riku saw this moment of vulnerability as an advantage so he knocked Sora in the head with a piece of wood resting up against the wall before I could warn him. Sora fell to the ground quickly. When Riku straightened back up, I saw a red smear on the wood's edge. This place was full of all sorts of "weapons" because of the workshop inside. They could get killed . . .

"Get out of here, Kairi,"

"NO! YOU'LL KILL EACH OTHER!"

"THIS IS A FIGHT BETWEEN SORA AND I, DON'T TRY TO GET INVOLVED!"

"I WON'T LEAVE!"

Riku scowled at me and I knew I had pissed him off. I set my face in a very determined expression and would not move my feet, partly because I had lost the feeling in them and also I would never leave these two to kill each other. Sora groaned in pain and started to rise to his feet. Riku prepared to send another blow to his head when I ran up and grabbed the board in my hands over my head. I glared at him and he did to me.

"Let go!" He yelled at me, trying to shake me off of the board. I wouldn't move and tried not to be pushed away, but it was hard not to. Riku suddenly thrust the board so hard to the right that I was flung to the side and landed painfully on the cement floor. A sharp jab pierced my right thigh and I moved over to see a sharp and pointy piece of glass sticking halfway out of my skin. The blood started to run down my skin and onto the floor. I ripped it out with a small cry and hurled it across the room. My shoulder was throbbing with ceaseless pain from the fall, but I stood up to face Riku nonetheless.

Fury bubbled up inside of me and I suddenly had the urge to throw myself at him and rip him to shreds. I ran at him and caught him by surprise, knocking him to the ground. I heard Sora shouting my name and I felt his strong hands grabbing me at the arm to pull me off of him, but I wouldn't get away. I threw two punches at Riku's beautiful face, but then his shocked surprise seemed to have worn off, because he grabbed my fist and twisted my wrist. I cried out a little from the pain searing through my arm, but I still did not move away from him. The next thing I knew, I was tossed aside easily by my arm and, once again, landed on the ground.

It took me a little longer to stand up again, but I saw with my eyes Sora and Riku facing each other. I could see some longing in Sora's eyes to go and comfort me. I did not need comfort . . .not from him . . .I never did . . .nor will I ever . . .Sora kicked Riku in the shin and as Riku bent over, his next kick knocked him straight in the head. Riku was thrown to the floor and Sora smiled.

"How does it feel?"

Riku staggered back to his feet, another fresh cut scraped along his cheek from a shard of glass. The blood trickled down his skin and left droplets and pools of crimson on the dirty floor. I saw the pain shining in his eyes even though he acted as if he felt nothing at all. His outer shell is so impenetrable that even after blow after blow, he still stands back up with no emotion visible to the unseeing eye. I saw, though, as I lay in a crumpled heap on the cement, the torture behind his stunning eyes and how he wished to just fall over and end this. He did not, although, he just stood there staring at Sora like there was nothing screaming inside of him at all.

" . . .Riku . . ." I croaked out a whisper to him. He glanced over at me and I saw the fury glaring at full-blast back at me. He hated me . . .now Riku hated me . . .and he probably thought that I hated him too . . .

His hand reached over to the working bench where all sorts of tools lay scattered and he rested upon a steel cutting knife with a red handle. I saw his grip tighten over the weapon and his knuckles turn white. Sora's eyes traveled over to what he was holding, but it was too late. Riku charged at Sora at full speed and knocked him over. Riku had his back to me and I couldn't see what he was doing to Sora, but I heard a loud cry of pain the next second. Despite my injured body, I leapt to my feet and hurried over to where Riku had pinned down Sora and slashed his cheek on the same one that Riku was cut with the glass. I tried to push Riku away, but I had pushed on his right arm . . .the one he was holding the knife in.

A sharp sting ran through the muscles on my chest and as I staggered backwards, I saw droplets of scarlet fly away from my body. The warm liquid trickled down my collarbone and ran into my shirt. My white uniformtop immediately was stained dark red from the continuous blood. Tears welled up inside of my eyes from the pain and I squeezed them shut tightly and took in deep breaths even though the pain was unimaginable.

After I had forced myself to swallow the pain, I turned back around to face Riku who was punching Sora with the knife still in his hand. Sora's face was growing white and the amount of blood on his face made it look scarlet. I sprinted as quickly over to where they were and shoved with all my remaining might at Riku and I managed to push him away. I landed on top of him again and grabbed the knife from his hand before I could think straight. Then, using my other hand to pin down his shoulder, I pressed the tip of the knife into the soft flesh of his neck until I saw a small stream of crimson. My mind was numb and I felt so bloodthirsty to kill him . . .

IN KAIRI'S ROOM . . .

Normal POV:

"Ugh . . .why does she have her alarm set at this hour?" The woman with long and curly red hair mumbled to herself as she rolled over on her side to get out of bed. The little beeping coming from her daughter's room was driving her crazy and she couldn't take it anymore. With great effort, she somehow managed to hoist herself out of her slumber and trudge over to the bedroom down the hall from hers'. As she neared the door, the beeping grew louder and she slowly pushed open the door.

In the darkness of the room, she saw clearly the glowing green numbers on Kairi's alarm clock. They were flashing 2:03 AM and the incessant beeping continued. She started to wonder why her daughter wasn't hearing this constant high-pitched sound. As she neared the side of her bed to holler at her for waking her up at this time of night, she noticed something. A cool breeze wafted over to her and pushed around her crimson hair. She glanced over at the window and saw that it was open . . .wide open . . .

There was no lump underneath the sheets where her daughter slept, nobody in the closet and the window was open. Fearing that somebody took her daughter away into the night, she hurried over to Kairi's cell phone charging on her nightstand. She quickly dialed with shaking hands 911 and waited for the person on the other side to pick up . . .

KAIRI'S POV:

"I'm gonna slash your throat if you don't tell me why you guys are even fighting, got that!" I shouted into his face. I saw some slight fear shine in his aquamarine eyes. I guess the real emotion shows when a knife is placed at your neck by a 16 year-old schoolgirl. (A/N: Just imagine that! She's wearing an innocent schoolgirl outfit and is holding a knife to someone's neck! Lol! Kinda scary . . .) He didn't say anything so I pressed the knife harder against his flesh. I heard a small whimper of pain escape from his lips.

"It's all Sora's . . ." he drifted off and swallowed heavily. That wasn't good enough. I needed to know the full reason.

"'All Sora's' what!" I demanded from him, the blood pounding and pulsing in my eardrums. I was so furious at him that I could just slash him right now . . .but . . .I also couldn't . . .

"HE'S THE ONE THAT LOVES YOU!" Riku shouted in desperation. It hit me like a truck. The pressure I was applying to his neck eased as I pulled back to slowly turn around to see Sora sitting in a slouched position, his left hand clutching his upper right arm. His expression was practically unreadable behind all of the pain and sorrow he felt. I didn't know if he was struck by Riku's words or not . . .were they true?

"SHUT UP! THAT'S NOT THE ONLY REASON YOU GUYS ARE KILLING EACH OTHER! WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW?" I shrieked at him, pressing the tip of the knife harder into his skin again, fury driving me closer and closer to slashing the answers out of him. Riku whimpered yet again in pain and I felt no mercy. I was completely numb and I even seemed to have forgotten who I really was, too. I wasn't myself . . .it was like somebody else's emotions placed inside of me and I was just the puppet of their actions.

The sudden sound of faraway police sirens reached my ears. I didn't tear my eyes away from Riku, but in my mind, I was freaking out. There's nothing to worry about . . .it's probably some kind of robbery or something . . .how would anybody find out about this? Riku smirked underneath me and I read his expression. He was glad that we would get busted. He wanted to ruin my reputation forever . . .but his rep would also be trashed. . .Sora stood up from where he was slumped and limped over to me. His hand rested on my shoulder and I pulled away.

"We need to get out of here!" He ordered me sternly. I ignored him and tuned out his words. My mind was racing like crazy. Part of me was still longing to slice Riku's throat wide open, but the other half told me to run for my life and worry about this later. Sora once again tugged at my arm and actually attempted to take the knife away from me but I pushed him back. I need no distractions even though the sirens were growing louder and louder until I knew that they were right outside. That didn't stop me. When Riku tried to get up and push me away, I only dug the knife deeper into his throat. The shining metal of the blade reflected my own image and I saw the wild look stretched across my bloodied face. My pupils were dilated and my teeth bared menacingly. I almost did not recognize myself . . .who is this demon-like girl?

The door blew open in a quick movement and four officers barged into the small room, each equipped with a large gun. I saw Sora immediately put his hands up in the air out of the corner of my eye and an officer handcuff him behind his back. I would not move on my own will, but after about two officers yanked me away from Riku suddenly, I finally gave up. From the sudden force of my being pulled out and away from his neck, the blade left a small cut on histhroat and the blood began to run. Another officer grabbed Riku's hands and forced them behind his back while I was jerked around in the position as well.

What is wrong with me? Why am I acting like such a monster? This is not me . . .

"What can drive a schoolgirl to do something so horrible?" I heard my captor mutter under his breath to one of his assistants. I started to wonder the same thing . . .what drove me to do this? Hatred? Fear? Or was it just that I was only trying to protect somebody? Right then, I didn't know who I was trying to protect . . .my mind was pounding from fear of what was going to happen to me that I couldn't think straight.

My officer lead me out the door with my hands still bound in my metal restraints and into the cool night air. I was almost blinded by the flashing red and blue lights coming from on top of the patrol cars. This blissful night seemed to stare at me in awe for what I did. I entered this place clean and innocent and left as a blood covered criminal. I heard the faraway hoot of the same owl, only this time; it seemed to be disappointed in my deed. I felt the shame rise in my chest . . .I'm not the same anymore . . .I'm a monster . . .

He opened the back door to the car and ducked my head under and pushed me inside. My leg jammed into the side of the seat and I felt a strong sting of pain. I situated myself, however and sat up straight. I peered out the window beside me and saw Sora being shoved inside of another car and Riku just coming out of the building now. I couldn't make out any of their expressions, but I had a strong idea of what they were feeling: hatred and regret.

Tears started to well up in my eyes as I dwelled on the thought that I was the one who caused all of this. I keep hurting people . . .physically and mentally . . .Most of the time, I don't try it, but this time I deliberately did. The tears dried stiff on my face and dripped onto my jacket. I'm so sorry . . .why did I do this? What is wrong with me? What happened to me? My life is spinning out of control and is going down the shitter with every move I make. The idea that only two days ago I was a quiet academic only brought more tears to my already soaking eyes.

I've lost it . . .I've lost everything . . .

The car pulled away and was speeding down the road, me being jostled around uncomfortably in the back seat. The driver and I did not speak to one another only when he asked me where I lived. I told him my address but then the words choked inside of me. This is going to go on my permanent record . . .I'll probably never get a job, or anything else that I've worked so hard at to achieve . . .All of the wasted years of school and education for something like this to happen. I knew that the officer could hear my sobs, but he showed no mercy whatsoever. It's his job to deal with shit like me . . .

When my house came into sight, I knew that I would now have to face my mom's reaction. She would be furious at me . . .and disappointed all the same. I couldn't stand to see the shame of me being her daughter shining in her hazel eyes. I know that she would say that if my father could see me now . . .he'd move away from this place . . .But he's gone now . . .and I try to forget about the bastard. I hate how he hurt my mother and tore apart our family. I wouldn't care if he moved away . . .it wouldn't make a difference.

The car pulled to a stop in my driveway and the officer swung open his door and stepped around. He opened my door and helped me out (kind of) and lead me to my front door. I felt like I was walking down the road to hell. I knew what the horrible reaction my mother would have would be coming soon . . .and . . .only more sorrow for me . . .

I stood on the front step of the doorway as the officer with the dark black hair rang the doorbell and waited for a response. I could hear thundering footsteps coming towards the door and the next thing I knew, it was flung open and my mother was standing before us, her red hair in disarray and her eyes red with tears. I could see the pain she had gone through while I wasout reflecting in her eyes. I guess that she knew that I was gone afterall . . .maybe she was the one who called the police if she somehow found out that I wasn't in my room. The officer blabbed about something that I tuned out of, took off my handcuffs, and then my mother pulled me into a tight embrace. This wasn't quite the reaction I was expecting, but I was pretty sure that the real reprimanding would come after the police left.

I was pulled inside of my doorway and the officer left. After the door closed, my mom hugged me closer. I heard her sobbing into my shoulder. My soul was dead and I felt no emotion whatsoever . . .Here was my mother expressing all of the emotions that I wish I could show . . .and . . .what was I to do? I was stunned about what happened still and I couldn't breathe. The stinging from where the cuffs were once seemed to jeer at me, mocking my horrible act and the consequence. I wasn't expecting sadness to come out of my poor mother; I was expecting fury and hatred. She pulled away and looked into my eyes, her eyes all red and puffy from her incessant sobbing.

"Kairi . . .I was so worried you were kidnapped or something . . .but . . .I found out you were fighting!" she choked out in between sobs. The tears started to roll down her face again. "What has become of my child? I thought I raised you well! If only your father hadn't—"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT HIM, ANYMORE!" I blurted out suddenly at the mention of him. My mother's eyes widened and her pupils dilated at my sudden outburst of anger. Some of the blood from my collarbone was smeared over my mother's white robe and I knew it would be there for a long time . . .constantly reminding me of this horrible night in March . . .

I broke free from my mother's grasp and bolted up the stairs to my room before she could say anything more. I burst through my door and slammed it shut. As soon as the loud click of my door sounded, I threw myself onto my bed and sobbed my heart out. The emotions that I had lost were flooding back into my body and I now couldn't control them.

What is wrong with me?

I've become something I'm not . . .

Oh God, let this just be a nightmare . . .

I had screwed up big with this one. I had done a thing that I never want to relive or have anyone else find out about. I know that my conscience would not allow me to act as if nothing ever happened when I go back to school tomorrow, but I can at least cover it up with a false grin. If anyone looked close enough, though, they would see that the twinkle in my eyes would be faded and gone. I could probably never regain that again . . .And to think that this all started with a silly little crush. It led to a bloody brawl between two guys and me stuck in the middle . . .then another battle of revenge when it all went wrong . . .Why does my life have to be like this? Why can't I just start over again and this could never happen? I could've let somebody else have Riku's heart . . .but . . .

_Suteki da ne . . .?_

I lifted my face out of my pillow and averted my attention to the still open window off to my right. A cool breeze blew in and dried my tears and lifted my short red hair off of my face. My collarbone had stopped bleeding by now . . .but the wind only made it sting even worse . . .it will probably leave me a mark that will remain with me forever . . .

Before I knew what I was doing, I stood up from my bed and walked over to my window. I needed to talk to somebody . . .I had to. I had all of these thoughts running through my head that I just needed to get them out. I took a deep breath and actually jumped full long out of my window. I landed so hard on the ground that I fell over onto my side. For a moment I thought that I had broken my ankle because I couldn't move . . .but I realized after a bit that I hadn't. I just wanted to lie there on the cold hard ground, my body aching all over and my bloodied uniform collecting dirt and dust. I started to cry again . . .but not sob . . .just the tears rolled out of my eyes but I had no emotion on my face or in my body.

_Tsuki ga nijimu kagami o _

_Nagareta kokoro_

_Hoshi ga yurete koboreta,_

_Kakusenai namida . . ._

Something made me stand back up again . . .and I started to walk slowly to nowhere in particular . . .just . . .down the path . . .I headed in the direction of Selphie's house, but my original plan did not lead me there. I decided to walk over there in my trance-like state and maybe she could help me. What would she say, though, when I show up at her house like this?

A quiet hoot sounded again from overhead of me and I caught a glimpse of it. It was a white owl, gliding gracefully just above the trees, beating its' wings; propelling itself forward. I wanted to run along with it, but my body ached and I couldn't move faster than a walk. It hooted again in asoothing sounding way and stayed directly above me the whole while I walked. It did not get ahead of me; it just circled around and around, waiting for me to catch up to it.

Selphie's house appeared up ahead in the distance and it lifted my spirits to see it. I knew that I would receive some help and love from my best friend there. I cracked a weak smile even though it hurt my lips and spilt them in two.

_Sono kao_

_Sotto furete_

_Asa ni tokeru,_

_Yume miru . . ._

A/N: Woo! That was a very interesting chappie! Ok, I KNOW a lot of you will be pissed about how I made Kairi "evil" or stuff like that, but please don't be mean! I didn't make her "evil"; I just made her extremely pissed off! Now, if this chappie bothered you, nobody is stopping you from not reading it! It'll be your loss, though, cuz it only gets better!

Note to Readers: this is what the Japanese said throughout my chappie:

_Suteki da ne . . .? _Isn't it beautiful?

_Tsuki ga nijimu kagami o_ My heart that had been

_Nagareta kokoro _In a moon-blurred mirror that flowed

_Hoshi ga yurete, koboreta, _Those stars that trembled and spilled,

_Kakusenai namida . . ._ Cannot hide my tears . . .

_Sono kao _My dream of

_Sotto furete _Your face

_Asa ni tokeru _That I softly touch,

_Yume miru . . ._ Melts in the morning . . .

So . . .yea. I threw that in just for effect. Lol. I was actually listening to the song "Suteki da ne" when I was writing that last part. So . . .yea.

Please don't criticize me for this chappie! Please keep on reading! Please forgive me R/K fans! And if you're wondering what the final pairing will be . . .don't ask me cuz I don't even know!Well, please please please please please please PLEASE RR!

K-c


	9. Losing Grip

Unforeseen Attraction

By: K-c

A/N:sigh: Here is chappie 9! Now, before you go ahead and read it, PLEASE LISTEN TO ME! This chappie is going to be very strange and seem out of place. You must understand one thing about what Kairi is feeling in this chappie: she feels like her life has took a turn for the worse and that she is willing to throw it away . . .So . . .just so you know and not freak out. Um . . .here ya go!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this fic . . .

Ch. 9: Losing Grip 

_"Gravity attracts all things on this planet to one another . . ."_

Kairi's POV:

"Oh, Kairi! What the hell is wrong with you! Why would you do something like that?" Selphie shouted in disapproval, from on top of her bed. The pillow that she was holding in her arms fell to the ground as her hands started to shake. She looked utterly petrified as she stared at me with her big green eyes. I shifted in my position on the floor and didn't say a word. I had a hard time even looking her in the eyes. Yes, it was true that I felt horrible about what I did . . .I didn't need every person I encountered to tell me so . . .

"Is this really my best friend? You don't seem like it . . .the Kairi I know would never hold a knife to somebody's neck . . .especially not Riku's . . ."

Her little phrases were greeted by more dark silence. I didn't know what to say to her . . .I had told her everything about what happened . . .God . . .what is wrong with me? I'm losing grip on everything so suddenly . . .They're driving me insane . . .Sora and Riku are driving me crazy like this . . .

Selphie fell down to her knees in front of me off of her bed. I still did not look at her, but I wanted so much to convince her that I'm the same girl that she befriended in 2nd grade . . .She leaned forward and hugged me tightly, despite the blood she was going to get all over her pink pajamas. I cried into her shoulder, relieving some of the bottled misery I held inside of my heart. Is this what I really want? Do I want to continue to force my mind to dwell constantly on the thought of Riku and Sora? Why can't I just forget them? This has gone far enough . . .and even too far . . .I have to stop acting like this . . .but I just feel so horrible right now . . .I wouldn't care if the world stopped spinning at this moment . . .I would be too blind and numb to notice the change anyway . . .

"Kairi . . .what are you going to do now?" Selphie asked me softly, after she had pulled away from our embrace. I wiped my eyes on my sweatshirt and got even more dirt on my face from it. Her emerald eyes were shining with tears and I almost thought that I could see my own reflection in them. She sniffed down a sob and waited for my answer. I took a deep and shallow breath.

"I just want to forget this all . . ." I whispered quietly, looking back to her carpeted floor. The thoughts that had been running through my mind had finally ceased, causing great relief on my behalf. I just wanted to stop thinking . . .the only things I thought were about them . . .

"This is going to sound odd . . .but let's go drink it away . . ." I looked up at Selphie when she said this. What the hell was she thinking? Why would she suddenly and spontaneously suggest going to a bar and getting drunk? It certainly did seem odd . . .but if it was a way to forget about what happened . . .it was logical . . .I nodded my head and Selphie stood to her feet and reached out a hand to help me up too. I grabbed it hesitantly and she pulled me to my feet. I stood there for a moment, watching her scurry around her room looking for something to wear and muttering to herself.

After what seemed like five seconds, a pink mini skirt was thrown at my face. I caught it and looked down at it in my hands. It was a pale pink from what I saw in the meager moonlight with a soft texture to it. Around the top of it was a black belt with a heart on it. Before I could say anything to her, a white tie-on belly shirt was chucked at me also. I glanced back up at Selphie who was now standing in a skimpy black skirt with lace thigh-high stockings and a red mid-drift bearing halter-top. She looked like a whore . . .and . . .I guess that I will too when I put this on.

"Yea . . .you can wear that tonight . . . you can't honestly think that you're gonna show up at a bar wearing a blood-covered school uniform, do you?" She smiled at me, pointing to my outfit. I smiled back. I was already beginning to forget about what had happened by the friendliness of my best friend in the world. I zipped down my jacket and tossed it on the floor beside me. Then, pulling off my shirt, I tied on the white top. It was kind of tight around the chest because Selphie was flatter than I was, but it fit snugly all the same. I tugged down my blue skirt and pulled up the pink one. I walked over to the mirror resting against the far wall to see myself. I looked good . . .besides the fact that I was pale as ever and my collarbone bright red.

"Um . . .we need to cover that up . . . " Selphie said, indicating my red chest. She turned her back to me at her closet and started to rummage around more in it until she brandished a long, black scarf with tassels on the ends. She handed it over to me and I wrapped it around my neck and let the front ends dangle in front me. It had worked . . .it covered up my cut perfectly. Selphie looked in the mirror with me and nodded her head in a pleased way. "Much better!" she exclaimed happily.

Since her mother was away on a business trip and her father was still working the night shift, we exited through her front doors, but not before Selphie slipping on her strappy boots. I didn't need to borrow boots of hers . . .I was still wearing the ones from earlier. We stepped out into the cool night air and I felt goosebumps rise up on my arms and legs. Selphie, however, marched on to her car and walked around to the driver's seat. I stepped over to the passenger side and pulled open the door. I stooped inside of her small blue car and sat down on its' leather seats. Selphie stuck her keys into the ignition and turned it with a rev of the engine. She backed out of her driveway and we started to speed down the road that runs along the woods to the nearby bar across the forest.

After a bit, we pulled up in front of the neon lighted building with the words "Coco Craze" glowing in the darkness of the night. Inside the building through the windows I could see shadows moving about, but not that many. It didn't look too crowded for a Thursday night. Selphie pulled to a stop in the parking lot and opened her door. I opened mine and stepped lightly out from within. A gentle breeze blew through my hair and lifted up my skirt for the thousandth time this night.

Selphie started to stroll directly towards the bar and I ran to catch up to her side. She paused by the door while we were standing in the neon light and looked at me. A smile slowly crept onto her face and she gave me a look that said "Just relax". I smiled back at her and she pushed open the dirty door. A little bell tinkled from above it as we stepped inside and dim building. A large bar counter was along the far wall along with televisions hanging down from the ceiling. There were little tables and chairs along with them along the walls and in the center of the floor. Some hard rock music was playing from a radio in the corner by the pool table where four men were standing around playing a game. There was a woman sitting in a stool at the counter smoking a cigarette and three empty glasses around her. Nobody looked at us as we came into the room, but that didn't bother me.

My arm was tugged in the direction of the bar counter as Selphie walked over to it. I had no choice but to follow her. She sat down at a stool about five away from the other lady and I sat down on her right. From the back room came a tired looking woman with frizzed-out blonde hair and dark makeup. She lumbered over to where we were sitting and rested her elbow on the counter and looked at us expectantly. They didn't check for ID's here . . .but still . . .I've never been to a bar before so I had no idea what to order . . .

Selphie ordered some kind of martini and me, having no other idea what to get, got the same thing as she did. Selphie turned to look at me, surprise on her face. "You sure you're gonna get that? It's pretty strong . . ." she advised me. I shrugged my shoulders and gave her a grin.

"Oh whatever . . .I can handle it . . ." I told her reassuringly. She gave me another skeptical glance and turned her head to look at the other guys at the pool table. She's such a flirt . . .I knew which one she was checking out, though, it was the guy with the light blonde hair and blue eyes. He sort of resembled Tidus, which had immediately caught her attention. When will she learn!

The bartender came back from the back room with two martini glasses on a tray. She set down the tray and pushed the glasses towards us. The girl then marched away over to where the other lady sat and picked up her glasses. I stared down at my glass and observed it silently. It was a bright pink colour and had sugar around the edge of the glass. A blue straw stuck out of it and other stuff was inside of the drink. I glanced over at Selphie to get some kind of reassuring sign, but she was already sipping down her drink, a sour look crossing her face. She put down the glass and smacked her lips.

I picked up the glass carefully and lifted it to my face. A strong smell of sour strawberries filled my nose and I put the straw in my mouth. I sipped up the tiniest bit of the drink and tasted it. It did have a sour and tangy taste. It was extremely strong and made my eyes water in a way, but I took a longer draw from it. When I put the glass down, Selphie was looking at me and smiled.

"Told you it was strong . . ." she said to me smartly. I gave her a wise ass smirk and picked it back up for another drink to prove her wrong. After I had finished the glass, I could already start to feel the alcohol take its effect on my mind. I started to feel light-headed and dizzy in a way. I giggled as I put the glass back down on the smooth ebony counter. Selphie was grinning at me like there was nothing wrong in her life. All of the thoughts about what had happened earlier were melting away into a river of nothing. We ordered two more drinks.

LATER . . .

"So . . .anyway . . ." Selphie slurred out after putting down her fourth glass. I giggled and spat out the last mouthful of the drink over the counter. My mind was spinning and I felt absolutely great. I could stay here for hours! "You know what? Tidus has a good ass, you know it? I mean . . .take a picture of the damn thing and put it on your wall!" I nodded my head in agreement even though I had no idea what she had just said to me. I laughed hysterically when she burped loudly. The blonde bartender strolled by us and picked up our glasses looking very irritated. I giggled feebly again and ordered another drink.

"So how are you with Riku? I mean, you guys are totally strong, right?" she asked me with a slurred tone. I laughed again and almost fell off my chair. Selphie laughed hard and smacked me in the side of my head. I didn't feel any pain, but it only made me laugh harder.

"Yea, ya know. He's totally hot for me! I mean, it's kind of like Beauty and the Beast, ya know?" I slurred out quite loudly and picked up the other glass the bartender had lain down on the counter. I took a long sip from it and smacked my lips at the tangy taste. Selphie snorted into her glass.

"Wait, you saying you're the beauty? I thought you were the beast!" she yelled at me while laughing her head off. I smacked her head and giggled some more.

"Shut it, bitch!" I laughed. Selphie swayed around in her stool and then stopped and looked over to the doorway. The door had just opened and a guy with silver hair stood inside of the building. I stopped laughing and looked at him. Riku had a bandage around his neck and a little band-aide on his right cheek. He had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and looked utterly pitiful. At the sight of him, I started to remember what had happened. I felt the anger boil up inside of me uncontrollably. I stood up from my stool and staggered over to where he stood. He looked at me with surprise, obviously not used to seeing me dressed like a whore in a bar.

"What are you doing here, Kairi?" he asked me calmly, even though I could detect some anger deep in his voice. I glared at him and pushed him weakly in the chest. He didn't fall back or anything, he just continued to stare at me with amazement. He knew I was drunk out of my mind and I didn't care.

"What does it look like I'm doing, huh?" I mumbled out at him. Riku sighed and shook his head. I thought I saw a small smirk on his lips, but I couldn't tell.

"God, you're fuckin' drunk . . ." He muttered under his breath, the smirk now very noticeable on his face. He looked both amazed at my outgoing spirit and disappointed all the same. I frowned at him and pushed him once again in the chest causing no effect. I heard Selphie giggle in the background. Riku put an arm around my shoulders and gently lead me over to a table nearby as if I was a child. I tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but to no avail; I had no control over my body. He sat me down in a small chair and he sat down across from me.

"God do I hate you . . ." I mumbled before I knew what I was saying. Riku's face turned pink with slight annoyance. I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted. My head started to spin again and I suddenly tried to grab for the table edge, but ended up grabbing Riku's cold hand. I pulled away hastily and glared at him.

"You think you can hurt me and then try to make it up by buying me a drink?" I slurred out at him hotly as he ordered a drink. He looked over at me, his face showing some serious annoyance by now. I didn't realize I was pissing him off . . .I couldn't even think straight.

"This is for me, dumb ass," he growled at me under his breath, giving me an icy glare with those beautiful aquamarine eyes. I wish he would close them . . .they were starting to give me a headache. I shook my head and smacked my hand on the table.

"You can't call me that!" I shouted at him, my face growing hot with anger. I didn't know what I was getting so mad about . . .I just felt like I wanted to scream at somebody and he was the first person in my sight. He gave me a look that said: 'sure I can, bitch'. This only made me even angrier.

The flustered and fatigued bartender returned with a glass in her hand. It was filled to the rim with a foamy liquid and I reached out to grab it, but Riku pulled it away from me and took a gulp of it right in front of my eyes. He put the glass back down on the table. My eyes followed a stream of the beer streaming down the glass side.

"This is definitely a side of you I've never seen before . . ." he said to me, almost examining my outfit and my expression. I scowled at him some more and pounded my fists into the table, stood up from my chair, and loomed over him, fury bubbling inside of me. He gave me another surprised look but nonchalantly took another drink from his glass, ignoring everything I was doing.

"You bastard! Aren't you going to do anything more than just stare at me!" I hollered at him. He still wouldn't look at me, but I feel the stares coming from the guys at the pool table, Selphie, and the bartender rolling her hazel eyes. Finally, after about two minutes of me breathing heavily and glaring down at him, he looked up at me with a bored look in his eyes.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked me quietly and coolly. His blasé attitude was driving me insane along with the relentless pounding of my head from all of the alcohol stored inside of my brain and body. I didn't know what I wanted him to do . . .I wanted him to slap me . . .or kiss me . . .my mind was so jumbled up in a bundle of confusion that I felt like I wasn't really there. Maybe I was an onlooker, peeking through the windows at my body doing all of these crazy stunts. Maybe this wasn't even me at all . . .

Riku stood up from where he was sitting as well so we were eye-to-eye and staring at each other. I could still feel the fury rising inside of me, but I couldn't find the strength to throw a punch or anything. His eyes weren't showing any anger, though; they still had that casual and almost pitying look to them. There was an awkward moment of silence as we continued to stare at each other, the sparks flying from his eyes to mine. Selphie giggled in the background once again and the guys at the pool table started to grab their coats to leave but none of this mattered. All I was focusing on was him.

The next thing I knew before I could truly register, warm lips were pressing onto mine. My drunk and drowning mind did the only thing it could . . .push back. Before long, it started to get serious and I had my arms around his neck and was pulling him closer to me from over the table. Selphie was whooping and hollering from somewhere faraway but I paid no attention to her whatsoever. I concentrated hard on what I was doing, letting my tongue gently slide with his. It was supposed to be a wonderful feeling, I presume, but the incessant pounding of my head made it more painful than pleasurable.

Riku sidled from out behind the table and pulled me along with him, still keeping his lips locked firmly on mine. I couldn't see where I was going, but I trusted that he wouldn't run me into a wall or something. Am I supposed to wonder why he is doing this to me? Am I supposed to be grateful and joyous that he's kissing me? Am I now supposed to love him from this point on because of this? Or is this just some silly little night?

What I realized next was that a cold breeze swept over me and we stepped outside onto the hard ground. The crickets in the nearby bushes chirped merrily and an owl hooted again from above. Riku was still kissing me brusingly hard and I needed to breathe. We continued to move awkwardly over to somewhere I couldn't see. I heard a small click of a car door handle and I was suddenly bent down and pulled inside of Selphie's car. I opened my eyes now and we broke away. I panted heavily, my heart racing at the thought of being with him . . .I closed the door.

In the darkness of the small car, I could just barely make out his glowing eyes and body structure. The neon light still shone above us, casting an eerie green light on the ground and around us. His eyes were boring into mine and I could hear his breath panting steadily. My head started to spin again but I stopped myself from throwing up. Riku was sitting in the drivers' seat and I was in the passenger. We stared at each other for another moment or so until I quickly grabbed his jacket collar and pulled him forcefully into the back seat. He thumped onto the seat and I crawled back to him. I laid on top of him and smiled seductively down at his beautiful face. He smirked back at me and pulled me closer to him by my hair.

We continued to kiss over and over again, not caring what the hell was going on in the world around us, just focusing on what we were doing. Even though my head still hurt like crazy, I didn't want to be anywhere else at the time. I ran my fingers through his hair gently, entwining them with his soft and silky locks. He ran his hands all over my back and then we rolled around and he was now on top of me. He continued to smile down at me and then pressed his lips firmly onto mine again and pushed my head back into the car seat painfully. My head gave a hard throb and I almost cried out, but I wouldn't allow myself to ruin this moment. It was too beautiful . . .even if I was drunk . . .

His hands grabbed my shirt suddenly and untied it carefully. I shivered slightly from his cold touch, but smiled when his eyes once again met mine. He kissed my chest gently and made his way up to my lips where I greeted him happily. I ran my thumb over his band-aide on his cheek and saw him wince in silent pain. Memories poured into my mind and I looked away from him. This is wrong . . .but it feels so right . . .

I licked his lips flirtatiously and smiled up at him. He didn't smile back down at me . . .He's so serious no matter what's happening . . .But that's one of the reasons I love him . . .

His eyes didn't meet mine for another moment or so and he looked so solemn as if thinking deeply. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but my head gave another pound and I felt that if I were to open my mouth, I would wretch. Riku suddenly rolled away from me and clambered over to the front of the car again. I sat up slightly and watched him button his shirt back up, still without looking at me. My heart dropped so quickly, I thought it was going to fall right out from me. What did I do? Did I do something wrong? My normal mind was slowly coming back to me and I cold now think straight.

"I'm sorry . . .your life is already fucked up . . .I don't wanna do anything to screw it up even more . . ." he muttered under his breath to me quietly. He now looked back up at me, his eyes full of seriousness and his face unreadable. I didn't receive as much as a smile before he opened the car door and left me sitting there, confused thoughts screaming through my mind. I sat in the silence and darkness of the car, shock and confusion still overflowing inside of me.

What made him leave like that? Is he so caring that he doesn't want to take away everything from me? So far, I haven't had a complete blissful moment without something going wrong. My life is screwed up like that . . .I can't control what I'm going to do or say . . .

I struggled up to the front of the car and exited as well through the still-open car door and popped out into the fresh night air. The green neon lights still pouring all over the ground and blinded me from the sudden change of light. I glanced momentarily at the bar and saw through the window Selphie still sitting at her stool drinking away as if she hadn't noticed us leaving at all. She can manage on her own . . .

I started to run in the direction that we came from, only taking a left when I came to the intersection of where my house branches away from the others'. There weren't any cars out around this time of night which was very good . . .I didn't want anyone to see me like this . . .I couldn't control which way my feet were moving so a couple of times, I had to stop and put myself back on the sidewalk again. A hoot of an owl sounded from above me and I looked up and saw it flying overhead again. I didn't stop to admire its' beauty . . .I had to get home . . .I had to make this horrible night end . . .

After what seemed like hours, my house finally came into sight and I ran gratefully over to where my window was located above me. I didn't see any lights on inside, which made my heart sigh with relief that my mother didn't notice I was gone. That was very good. I climbed up the gutter with some difficulty because my eyesight was so blurred up by all the alcohol still lingering in my system. When I finally got through my window and back into my bedroom, I collapsed onto my bed in exhaustion. I didn't bother to close the panes . . .my body wouldn't allow it . . .

I closed my eyes for sleep and it came to me quickly . . .along with the dreams . . .

A/N: WOO! That was a very INTERESTING chappie, ya? Sorry about the whole car scene . . .I mean, you do crazy stuff when you're drunk, right? Right? Hehehe . . .Um . . .don't criticize me please about this . . .it fits in perfectly in with the rest of the fic . . .and . . .just to tell you . . .this is the first and the last time there is a lemon in this fic . . .so . . .i'm not a dirty writer . . . .

Oh, if you're asking about the little phrase in the beginning in the chappie, I came up with the idea that I should have little quotes or something in the beginning in each chappie . . .so . . .look out for that stuff . . .

Please be nice and don't be mean to me:begs:

K-c


	10. Past Mistakes, Future Adventures

Unforeseen Attraction  
By: K-c 

A/N: WOW! I'M ALREADY ON A DOUBLE-DIGIT CHAPPIE:tears stream down face: I MADE IT PAST MY RECORD! Thank you guys so much:bows 20 times:

Well, the fate of this fic is sealed. My friend Fa-Talony and I sat down one night and figured out how it's gonna end . . .YOU'LL SEE IT WHEN I GET THERE!

Random little girl:sniffle: it ends?

K-c:maniacal grin: YOU KNOW IT:beams:

It's not like I'm proud that it's ending . . .if it were up to me, I would make this last for forever and a day. BUT, I kept running out of ideas:pictures myself sitting at a computer as an old lady working on the 150th chappie:

Uhh . . .let's not go there . . .

Here ya go!

Ch.10: Past Mistakes, Future Adventures

"_The pleasure of a dream is that it's a fantasy. If it ever happens, it was never a dream,"_

The first things that greeted me when I opened my eyes was as follows:

The room spinning around me, the bright sun blinding my eyes, and my turning stomach.

When I sat up in my bed, the covers not on me from just falling on it last night, my stomach felt like a metallic fist was clenching it as tightly as it could. I almost rose to my feet to dash to the bathroom, but suddenly, I couldn't see where I was. Where was my door? The room was spinning so fast that I couldn't make out any certain objects. My head gave a hard ping and I fell flat on my face. The impact crushed my nose and when I sat up, I was lying on the floor with blood running down my chin from my throbbing nose. I tasted the red liquid and tried once again to rise to my feet. I knew I had to get up . . .if only I could. I heard my mom rustle around in the hallway, obviously coming to knock on my door to see if I was awake yet. When I heard the knock, it sounded 10x louder than it should have. I covered my ears from the horribly loud and continuous sound, and then came her voice. It was shrill and panicky and seemed to pierce my skin.

"Kairi! Are you up yet? Come on, you have school today! You're gonna be late!"

I rolled onto my back and stared up at my ceiling and waited for it to stop whirling around in a flash of blue. I felt as if I hadn't slept a wink last night. Last night . . .what had happened those few hours ago? It all seemed like a blur to me and I couldn't remember a thing. It couldn't have been important or anything, right? A tightening feeling grew on my neck and I tugged at a long black scarf strangling me. A scarf? When I touched my chest to pull it away, I was greeted with a sharp sting on my collarbone. A cut? What the hell . . .?

"GET UP THIS INSTANT, KAIRI!" my mother shouted with a voice louder than the sea and pounded once again on my poor door, ripping me from my daydream. My legs wobbled as I stood up and clutched onto the vanity nearest to me. In the mirror, I saw the sun beaming through my window behind me and saw the most shocking sight I've ever seen. It was myself. Or was it? It sure as hell didn't look like me. The girl behind the glass had a slutty-ass outfit on that was untied on the shirt, letting her breasts to almost fall out. A stream of dark red blood ran down from her nose to her chin, shining in the rising sun. Her red hair stuck up in every which was possible and her eyes . . .her eyes were light blue, but completely dull. There was no light shining within them . . .she looked . . .dead.

"I'm awake . . ." I called quietly to my mother outside of my door. As her footsteps retreated back to her bedroom, I touched my hand to my face, almost shocked to see that the horrible looking girl in the mirror copied my moves. My hand was cold and shaking as it wiped the blood away from my nose. I then rubbed this off on one of my make-up tissues. The dark crimson stuck out like a sore thumb on the foundation-covered cloth, staring up at me as if mocking my mistakes. What mistakes did I make? What did I do? Am I to be blamed? How can I regret something if I can't even remember what it was that I did?

"I'm awake . . .I think . . ."

LATER

"Hey, Kai!" I turned around to see Rikku running up to me, smiling with her bright white teeth. She stopped in front of me as I slammed my locker door shut with a bang. Rikku clapped me on the back, acting as if she was congratulating me for something. My mind was thoroughly confused, but I smiled back her, feeling the pounding in my head once again. "Hey, you don't look too good . . .you okay?"

I glanced up at her from staring at the floor that seemed to captivate me for the moment. Her expression now showed some deep and friendly concern, but I didn't want anyone worrying over me then. Was I okay? Do I look sick? Am I sick? Is there something wrong with me? What the hell happened last night? Why can't I remember anything? Does anybody else know?

"Yea . . .yea . . .I'm fine, really," I muttered under my breath, looking her square in the eyes. The concern and worry seemed to melt away when a loud and high-pitched squeal emitted from over by the entrance. I turned around along with Rikku to see a crowd of first-years along with a few girls in our class gathered together in a mob around something. I heard little snips of a conversation, but nothing I could fully make-out.

"Are you okay?"

"What happened to your beautiful face!"

"Did somebody hurt you! I'll kill them, if you want!"

"Here, let me take care of that nasty-wasty cut of yours!"

"DAMMIT! LEAVE ME ALONE!" A guy's voice erupted from the middle of the girl's squeals. I recognized the voice immediately and my heart fell to the floor. Rikku's bright green eyes lit up at the other voice and she suddenly drifted off towards the crowd. I didn't stop her . . .I couldn't move . . .A loud clatter sounded, but I didn't pay any notice towards it, I just stared directly in front of me at the teen who was slowly emerging from within the mob of girls. What is this feeling? It's not love . . .it's not fear . . .it's like . . .regret . . .

Regret . . .

It seemed to echo in my hollow and pounding mind as he slowly neared where I was standing, frozen on the spot. His silver hair hung loose in his face, shadowing those aquamarine eyes from my sight. A little white bandage was placed on his right cheek, shielding some sort of cut (from what I had heard from the girls). His face was set in a heavy scowl and he seemed to be carrying a large burden or thought, weighing him down with each step he took. As he came right in front of me, he stopped, his eyes still looking at the floor. I remained where I stood, not daring to move a muscle to speak or run.

"I'm sorry . . .but . . ." his voice drifted off. He was so gentle sounding, and almost seemed bashful to look me in the eyes. I felt a bright blush start to form on my cheeks. What did he mean he was sorry?

Suddenly, he looked up at me, anger and fury covering his pale face. "IT'S YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT!" he shouted at me, giving me the world's harshest glare I've ever seen. I was taken aback from this sudden spurt of anger and energy coming off of him and onto me. He continued to stomp on by, once again having his eyes to the floor. I didn't watch him leave . . .I was still frozen where I stood. I could hear the murmurs of jealousy coming from the crowd of girls as they still huddled in their little group. I closed my eyes and immediately I saw myself holding a knife to Riku's neck, me sitting at a bar, me and Riku in the back of Selphie's car, and me running away into the night, falling off of the sidewalk continuously. When I opened my eyes, a tear ranout from them involuntarily.

"KAIRI!" Rikku shouted over to me from the group of girls. She was cut off by the bell signaling homeroom echoing through the emptying halls. Slowly, the horde of first-year girls trickled away from the doors and to their homerooms, giving me evil glares as they passed by. The heat from their stares made me feel even more horrible than I already did. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore . . .Riku wasn't making sense, my thoughts didn't make any sense . . .what is going on! Will somebody please tell me, already!

"Come on! We're gonna be late!" a voice interrupted my thoughts. I glanced up and saw Rikku hurrying on by me. I snapped back to reality and realized that my legs could move once again. I started to hurry off behind her, trying to get to homeroom before the bell rang and I got marked late again. I turned the hallway to my homeroom, not realizing that I had left my book behind by my locker.

Even more later

I tapped my pencil on the desk I was sitting at involuntarily. I tried to focus on what my math teacher was yapping about, but my mind kept wandering to other subjects that had nothing to do with algebra or school. So . . .now I know have a strong feeling that Riku is mad at me. Is he? He certainly did sound pissed-off when he shouted at me . . .

_"I'm sorry . . .but . . .IT'S YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT!"_

What was he apologizing for? So far, I know that only _I_ did something wrong . . .shouldn't _I_ be the one apologizing for stuff? My fault . . .my fault? What was 'my fault'? Why the hell can't I grasp any answers here? I'm just going to end up brooding in my misery for hours on end trying to sort everything out! The part that hurts me the most . . .the part that _really_ stings me . . .is that . . .

. . . I don't want him to be mad at me . . .

I can't necessarily blame him though. One of the things I DO remember is myself holding the small switch knife to his neck and causing that bright red mark on it. I remember the look on his face when I screamed at his face for answers I didn't really want to hear and pressed the tip of the blade deeper into his flesh. I remember all of the emotions and thoughts racing through my mind as he smirked up at behind all of his fear . . .

"MISS KAIRI! ARE YOU GOING TO ANSWER THE QUESTION OR NOT?" I sat up straight with a jolt and gazed up at my teacher looming over me. His face looked ready to kill, and, by the looks from my fellow classmates, it looked as if they had been waiting for a while by now. Question? Oh shit . . .

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Niwa-san! It won't happen again!" I stammered out quickly, panic and embarrassment overtaking my body. Mr. Niwa sighed and shook his head and continued to walk down my row of desks, talking yet again. He called on Aerith to answer the question that was originally assigned to me. The blush that was slowly forming on my cheeks was now fading as I looked down at my paper in front of me. The assignment looked difficult . . . and . . .to make it worse . . .I had NO clue what we were learning today!

Before I knew it, the bell had rung and everyone was shuffling towards the doorway. I slowly stood to my feet, grabbed my folder, and shoved everything inside of my bag. Wait . . .where is my book? I dropped to the floor to check the area surrounding me, looking frantically for the little pink book I carry around with all my doodles and "diary" entries within it. I lost it . . .I dropped it somewhere . . .and now somebody is out there reading it and giggling over it with their friends . . .it's for the whole school to see . . .

"Here,"

I glanced up from my searching to see the pink and jeweled book being thrust in front of my face. I followed the hand to see Sora standing in front of me, not looking me in the eyes. He was facing away from me and I saw a dark red on his face, making the tan band-aide on his cheek stick out quite clearly. He was frowning, which I found unusual because I never see him look serious, but was still holding the book towards me. I didn't move to grab it away from him, I just stayed where I was, on the floor on my hands and knees. My heart was pounding continuously and I couldn't breathe quite right.

_I peered out the window beside me and saw Sora being shoved inside of another car and Riku just coming out of the building now. I couldn't make out any of their expressions, but I had a strong idea of what they were feeling: hatred and regret. _

He hates me . . .He really hates me . . .

I ruined everything . . .the strong feeling of friendship between the two of us has vanished. All he can probably think about me now is how I caused him to be sent home in a police car, seething with anger. I cared for him . . .I never left his side . . .and then I caused him pain . . .once again . . .I'm ruining everyone's lives . . .

"You dropped this earlier . . .here," he said again, his voice almost cracking with anger. His eyes were still not meeting mine, which saddened me greatly. Please look at me . . .I want to see your eyes . . .even though I've always hated how they somehow make me want to hide . . .I just want to see them . . .just this once . . .please . . .

My shaking hand closed around the smooth book and he slowly let go of it. I pulled the book close to my chest and held to it dearly. Sora remained where he was standing; his eyes still to the floor and his brown locks shielding them from me. By now, the classroom was empty (including the teacher . . .this is his lunch break period . . .) and I knew I had to get to my next class . . .but I still couldn't move. My legs were stinging from falling asleep and felt like they weighed twenty thousand pounds. He started to walk away when I suddenly opened my mouth to speak.

"Thank you . . .and . . .please forgive me . . ."

Sora turned around and now I finally met his eyes. They were narrowed in anger, but after he saw tears on my face, they widened a bit to show his normal concern. I don't know why I was crying . . .I just felt horrible for everything . . .He took a step towards me and knelt down in front of me so he was now facing me. The coldness that was once shining in his eyes was slowly melting away and he returned to his normal, caring self. He is like my best friend . . .or maybe even like my brother . . .he listens when I speak and spill my heart out about everything that runs through my mind . . .he helps me come over my problems . . .we developed this friendship in a matter of 24 hours . . .24 hours can do a lot to you, I've realized. When you're mad at somebody, grudges may be held, but after a bit or the next day, you can smile again and forget about what happened. Even though there is a small stinging pain inside of your chest that doesn't seem to go away no matter who tries to heal it for you, there is always someone there who will listen to you no matter what you say. There is always someone there who will watch after you and worry when you're feeling horrible. There is always someone there who will say all the right things at the right times and never seem to fail to make you smile. I've found that someone . . .and he was right in front of me all this time . . .

"I'm sorry . . .I'm sorry . . .but . . .please . . ." I drifted off from in between sobs and buried my face in my hands, letting the warm tears moisten the cold hands of mine. I knew he was still sitting there . . .I could feel his presence surrounding me. Even though the late bell for the next class already rang and the halls were empty and the only sound I could hear was the own sound of my tears, I didn't want to leave . . .I wanted him to stay with me . . .I know that he must have heard by now from Selphie about last night at the bar with Riku . . .but I wanted to prove to him that I'm not like that. I wanted to be his friend again . . .if we were ever friends to begin with.

Arms wrapped around my shoulders and I was being pulled close to his own body in a tight embrace. My face was now buried into his shirt and I could feel his chest rise up and down as he breathed. I continued to cry into his chest, hugging him back gently. He stroked my hair soothingly and held me so close to him . . .

" . . .Please . . .don't hate me . . .tell me . . .everything's okay . . ."

AND EVEN MORE LATER!

"SO . . ." Selphie started her sentence with an accusatory tone and slid over to me closer, her face full of suspicion. I took a big bite from my sandwich to prevent myself from answering the obvious question coming up soon. The cool breeze from the ocean blew onto the roof of the school that we were all sitting and eating lunch on. The warm, midday sun beat down upon me and I started to long for the summer uniforms to arrive. We were all sitting on a little bench along the edge by the fence and where the flowerpots were stationed. Yuna and Rikku, who up until this point had been in a deep conversation about something that had happened last night on the Internet, now turned to look at me who, I presume looked very guilty of something. Selphie suddenly loomed over me, her green eyes shining with malice and fury.

"I saw you leaving with Riku last night . . .HOW WAS IT?" she demanded from me, her voice raising to an alarming height. The sudden difference in her tone made me fall backwards in surprise and landed in the flower bush behind me. Hitting my head on the pot didn't help my still throbbing headache whatsoever. When I opened my eyes, both Rikku and Selphie were glaring me at now, their eyes shining with wild and crazy jealousy. I swallowed the bite of my sandwich with difficulty.

"YOU'RE SUCH A WHORE! YOU WERE SO INTO IT THAT YOU COULDN'T EVEN BREAK TO OPEN THE DOOR! AND WHEN I GOT BACK TO MY CAR TO FIND IT ALL STEAMED UP ON THE INSIDE, I STARTED TO WONDER SOME THINGS, KAIRI! SOME THINGS WERE PONDERED! DID YOU HAVE FUN? I BET IT WAS AWESOME, WASN'T IT? I BET YOU LOST YOUR PRECIOUS VIRGINITY TO HIM, DIDN'T YA? ALL IT NEEDED FOR IT TO BE ENGAGED WAS A FEW DRINKS IN YOUR SYSTEM, AM I RIGHT? AND THEN YOU JUST LAY BACK AND DRINK IN ALL OF THE PLEASURES! AM I RIGHT? AM I?" Selphie screamed at me while throwing me onto the ground and looming over me menacingly. I squealed in sudden surprise and winced in fear of being thrashed to death. Great . . .now the whole school knows . . .how is it that Selphie remembers everything that had happened when I couldn't?

"That's enough," I opened my eyes to see Yuna holding Selphie back from strangling me. She was giving them a cold and stern look, as if daring them to make another move. I felt a sudden sisterly connection with Yuna at that moment. Rikku still looked like she could kill me if she wanted to, but Selphie, after looking into the stern eyes of Yuna, was slowly restraining her anger bit by bit.

"Now, you don't want a teacher coming up here with all the racket you're making, right?" she asked both of them calmly, still holding Selphie's arm from reaching my neck. I breathed a sigh of relief. I can't imagine what my life would be like without Yuna being here to save me from crazy friends like these! Yuna turned around to look at me and smiled. She held out her hand to help me up and I took it. She pulled me to a standing position and I shuffled my feet around, feeling the stares from the other people boring into me.

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you, because I know that the Kairi _I_ know would never do such a crazy thing, even if she was drunk . . ." she assured me gently. I wanted to open my mouth and tell them all that I was still a virgin, but I couldn't find the words to speak. It seemed that if I were to say anything, it would be proved wrong . . .even if it was the truth. I wanted to smile back at Yuna as well, but I couldn't. It would be a lie. 'The Kairi _I_ know . . .' But I'm NOT the same Kairi she knows or knew! I've changed so much in a matter of 24 hours . . .but . . .there, once again. . 24 hours can do a lot to you . . .

AND LATER STILL!

The rest of the day went on smoothly without any disasters. Besides the fact that Rikku and Selphie kept giving me evil glares every time I passed them in the hallway, everything was okay. I didn't see much of Sora for the rest of the day, but everytime I did; he would smile at me and wave. Riku didn't make an appearance often, either. I knew when he was coming, though, because a large group of giggling girls often signaled his approach. I wanted to talk to him . . .just to smooth things over between us two . . .but . . .he was never alone.

The setting sun cast shadows on the ground from the trees and from myself. My footsteps seemed to echo clearly through the empty woods at dusk and my shadow stretched long and slender beside me. The bag on my back weighed me down with four textbooks and five notebooks from all of the homework I had missed while I was tending to Sora. Apparently, yesterday was national "Dump Tons of Homework on Everybody, and Make Those Who Were Sick Suffer When They Return" day. As I walked, I looked up at the fair sky that was slowly turning pink with the setting sun.

_An owl's hoot sounded from above me, which surprised me. I didn't know that I could hear other things over my heart . . .it seemed so loud that the whole neighborhood could hear it in their sleep._

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked back down on the ground. I ran along this very same path last night . . .The dirt beneath my feet seemed to scream up at me of memories and hauntings of the fortnight. I shook my head distractedly and brushed a stray piece of crimson hair out of my eyes and continued to lumber on, trying to erase some of those clinging memories and nightmares easing their ways into my mind. Before I knew it, I was standing before the front door to my house. I slowly opened the heavy structure and was greeted by a phone being shoved into my face. I blinked a few times at it and then saw my mom holding it out to me.

"It's Yuna,"

"Oh . . .okay . . ." I said cautiously, slowly taking the phone from my mother's grasp. My heart was still pounding from the surprise I had just received, but when I put the phone to my ear, I was relieved to hear the sound of Yuna's cheerful voice on the other end.

"Hey, Kairi!"

"Hiya!"

There was an awkward silence as I waited to hear something more to her sentence. Very quietly, I heard some muttering in the background and Yuna saying something to her mother. Then her voice came back on, loud and clear for me to hear.

"Yea . . .I'm going to my summer home this week for Spring Break and I'm bringing a whole bunch of people. Wanna come?" she asked me eagerly, the excitement in her voice very noticeable. My heart raced at the very thought. Being away all week on a private island in a summer home with all my friends . . .it sounded great! It seemed like a perfect excuse of forgetting my troubles and just taking to time to soak in the sun and splash in the ocean. My mother loomed over me from behind, obviously trying to listen in on what Yuna and I were saying. I ignore her and started to walk away casually. My mother followed me closely though.

"YEA! That sounds like sooo much fun!" I squealed into the phone, excitement being released from my body all to quickly, making me sound as if I were five years old again. Yuna made a shriek of delight at my agreement and giggled some more.

"GREAT! Meet us all there at the airport at exactly 3:00 on Friday, okay? Don't be late!" She instructed me carefully, and then hung up. I pressed the 'off' button on the phone with a wide grin on my face. I looked up, though, and saw my mother breathing down my neck, wanting answers. I stared up at her for a few seconds and then I handed her the phone. She took it, but still gave me that look.

"Yuna is inviting me to go to her summer home this weekend for Spring Break and I'm going, okay?" I told my mother quickly and then marched up the stairs, while kicking off my shoes on the way. They landed with a clatter in the entrance hallway while my mother shouted something up at me, but the shoes drowned out the sound. I giggled to myself as I threw open the bathroom door and closed it behind me. I walked over to the bathtub and turned the silver knob for hot water on. The water gushed out like a waterfall and started to fill some of the tub up. I plugged the drain and waited for it to get full. As the water streamed into the basin, I turned to look at myself in the mirror that was quickly fogging up from the steam. The dead and cold girl that I had seen in the mirror this morning seemed to have vaporized away into dust. Colour bloomed in my pale cheeks and a happy smile was placed on my rosy lips. Even though the bright light that once shined in my crystal blue eyes was still missing, I looked as if nothing had ever happened at all. The nagging feelings of guilt and shame were still there, but not as strong as before. My heart felt enlightened for some reason and I felt like I wanted to dance around and smile as if there were no tomorrow.

_"Happiness comes from the people around you . . ."_ My mother used to say whenever I felt sad or miserable. She would just turn around from doing the laundry or cooking and smile at me with that pleasant smile she used to always give me and my troubles would just melt away. When I was a child and after my father left, I would cry myself to sleep every night. I remember my mother coming into my room and sitting on my bed, trying to make me smile or cheer up. I used to refuse to look at her whenever I cried . . .it was almost as if I was afraid of her to see me in such a state. But when I did look at her, she would smile at me and even laugh. That cheered me up and put the smile back on my face. It's true . . .happiness _does_ come from the people around you . . .you only need just one friend to smile and laugh with you when you're feeling down . . .and you'll smile too . . .

_"Kairi? What's wrong, dear?" she sat down on my bed and stared directly at me. I wouldn't look at her, but I could feel her eyes upon me. Tears rolled down my face and my breaths came in short and quick like little pants. I buried my face in my knees that I held close to my chest as I sat on my bed in the dark. A warm hand reached out and stroked my hand. _

_"You know . . .whenever I feel sad . . .I just smile. That's my motto: smile . . .even when you're feeling miserable . . .so I want you to look at me, Kairi. I want to see you smile and wipe away those tears, okay?" my mother whispered to me gently, still holding my hand carefully. I could still feel her eyes staring at me, but I still refused to look at her. I look horrible . . .I don't want to look like a little baby again . . .I'm not three anymore . . .I'm seven. Four years makes a huge difference! _

_"B-but . . .HOW CAN I BE HAPPY WHEN I FEEL LIKE THIS? DADDY'S GONE AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY! YOU MAKE IT SOUND SO EASY! I BET YOU CAN'T EVEN SMILE!" I screamed with all my might into my knees at my mother, still not looking her in the face. Her hand didn't move away from mine. I was shaking with sobs and fury from head to toe and the tears just kept spilling out and onto my bedspread. The next thing I knew, I was pulled away from my sitting spot and over to the warm embrace of my mother. She held me close to her and wrapped her arms around my quivering body. I now switched from my knees to sobbing into her chest. I didn't care anymore that she would see my sadness and my tears . . ._

_"Now, look at me, honey," she whispered quietly down at me, still holding me close to her and stroking my hair gently. I slowly pulled my face away from her and looked up at her face. She was smiling . . .she was smiling down at me like nothing was wrong. At that moment, my heart felt light and alive. My body felt all warm inside and the tears stopped rolling down my cheeks. I wiped away the remaining tears with my pajama sleeve and sniffled. _

_I smiled back at her . . ._

Sometimes I wondered whether or not she was really happy or just smiling to look cheerful. It was hard to tell sometimes . . .she was so good at it that anyone could be fooled. I remember once asking her if she was always sad and was just covering it up with that warm and kind smile. And you know what her response was to that question? A smile. Maybe that was the reason she didn't react the way I pictured a mother responding to her daughter getting taken home by the police in a dirty and blood-covered uniform. She was just covering up her real and true sorrow with that broken smile of hers . . .

I couldn't see my face anymore in the mirror . . .it was completely covered in steam. The bathroom was filled with the heavy feeling of hot air. I turned back around to look at the bathtub and gasped. It was completely full and about to spill over! I hurried over to it and twisted the knobs frantically to make the water stop running. The roaring sound ceased immediately and I sighed in relief. A few stray drops of water dripped out of the faucet and into the entirely full tub. I took off my clothes and stepped cautiously into the water. Some water spilled out over the edge but I swore to clean it up later. The hot water hurt my skin for a second, but after a few moments of it, I got used to it and sat down. I really need to stop dazing off . . .

WOW! EVEN MORE LATER!

I stepped into my bedroom and turned on the light. Lying on my bed was my furry orange kitty, Kyo (A/N: HAHAHA! Those of you who have read/watched Fruits Basket know what I'm talking about! I LOVE MY KYO:ahem:). He lifted a tired eyelid to watch what I was doing invading "his" room. I took off my towel and slipped on my nightgown from within my drawer. I brushed my hair out and put it into a quick and messy ponytail. Then, after already brushing my teeth, I stepped over to my bed and lied down under the covers. Kyo walked over to my head and lay beside me, purring soundly. I turned off the light on my right and darkness overtook my bedroom.

After a while, the moonlight was covered up by some clouds rolling in, blocking out my light source. I sighed quietly to myself and snuggled down deeper into my blankets. I wonder what will happen on this trip? I bet that Riku and Sora will be there . . .so there will definitely be some fights . . .but hopefully not as bad as some of their others'. I couldn't possibly bear for them to hurt themselves . . .why can't they just stop fighting and become friends again? Is it that hard?

With Kyo beside me, I closed my eyes in comfort. Already, I started to feel better from all of the events that had happened to me this week. Maybe I can go back to the way things were before my life was shattered. Maybe . . .we can all forget this and go on with our lives. Maybe Yuna brought us all on this trip to help us forget . . .

I smiled.

A/N: YUP YUP YUP! THAT WAS A PRETTY BORING CHAPPIE, I KNOW! Please forgive me for making that one dull. I just needed a filler chappie for in between 11 and 9. I hope it didn't put you to sleep and please don't be mad at me if you don't like it! I'm just gonna say one thing: THE GOOD PARTS ARE COMING NEXT! THIS IS THE PART IN THE FIC WHERE THE CLIMAX RISES TO A DANGEROUS PEAK! AHAHAHAHAHAHA:ahem:

So, anyway, this one took me a while to type for some reason. I dunno why. If any of the sentences don't make sense, don't kill me . . .I just typed from whatever mood I was in.

If you're wondering about the whole "father and flashback" things, I can't necessarily explain it myself. I didn't feel like adding a father figure into this fic so I made him move away from Kairi and Kyoko (her mom's name).

Yes, as you can all probably tell, I am currently obsessed with Fruits Basket. I'm only gonna use the names Kyo and Kyoko, though for this fic. Sorry if I offended you guys or something (if I did . . .). I just ran out of names!

Ok, I'll stop rambling now. Thank you for reading this chappie and look for an awesomely cool update sometime soon!

This has been K-c

K-c


	11. Vacation SideEffects

Unforeseen Attraction  
By: K-c 

A/N: HELLO EVERYONE AGAIN! Thank you guys very much for the reviews. I'm so grateful! I currently have a fever of 103.2, so if some of the things in this chappie don't make any sense, blame my brother for getting me sick! I'm glad you didn't fall asleep from reading ch.10 . . .but, like I promised, ch. 11 here will have SOO much more to it! Well, here ya go!

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this fic . . .not a single one, unfortunately . . .

Ch.11: Vacation Side-effects

_  
"Wishing to the stars not only grants your desires, it gives you comfort that somebody out there is listening . . ."_

"Is that it? Is _that_ the island?" Rikku shouted anxiously, leaning over me to look out the small plane window and pointing to a large blob in the middle of the crystal blue and green water. I peeked out from underneath of Rikku's arm to see Yuna give a happy nod with a grin spread wide on her face. She nudged Tidus, who was sitting beside her, for him to wake up.

Yes, in case you couldn't tell by now, we are currently flying over the ocean to Yuna's summer home for Spring Break. When I had first heard the news, I was overcome with excitement, but when I found out that we were going to be flying over the ocean, I started to freak out. I've never flown over a large body of water before . . .so . . .I haven't looked out the window much on this flight. Just as I had guessed, Riku and Sora were also invited on this trip along with Selphie, Rikku, Wakka and Tidus. Yuna's summer home once belonged to her uncle, but since he died from a heart attack, it then moved along to Yuna's family. According to her, she had to beg and plead and beg some more to get her parents' permission to allow a whole bunch of High School teenagers on an island in the middle of nowhere. I'm glad that we're finally going, though. I can't wait to see what's going to happen!

I reached down by my feet and grabbed my little carry-on purse that was still slightly damp from the rain on St. Anne as we were leaving . . .even after a three-hour flight. Rikku was still leaning over me uncomfortably, gazing blankly out the window with a dazed expression on her face. I elbowed her gently to bring her back to reality and she looked at me, grinned, and sat back in her seat. A guy that I've never met before in my life sitting behind me mumbled something in a different language that I couldn't understand, but by the way he said it, it seemed like he was annoyed by our behavior. Ok, so the island doesn't completely belong to Yuna . . .there are a whole bunch of hotels and stuff on it as well, but on the other side of it. The summer home that we're staying in is supposedly along the far end of the beach with a forest behind it. There is also an extinct volcano on it, too! I've never seen one in person before!

"Now landing on Emerald Sands island. Please remain seated until the seat belt light on your overhead area turns off for your own safety. I hope you enjoyed your flight on St. Anne Airways and have a great time at your destination!" The little computerized female voice on the loudspeakers said slowly. It seemed that with every word, my heart started to pound faster and faster. I was way too excited to keep sitting down! I wanted to get on that island now! I wanted to feel the sand between my toes, because at St. Anne, there are no beaches . . .just rocks and ocean.

:LATER:

"It's HUGE!" Everyone shouted in unison except for Yuna as she walked casually up to the front door of her summer home and put the key into the lock. She smiled back at us sweetly.

"Oh, it's not that big!" She told us with a faint blush of embarrassment and flattery on her cheeks. I stared open-mouthed at the enormous summer home (or MANSION!) that Yuna was now walking into. There had to be at least four floors with countless windows lining it. The sun beamed off of every one of these windows, almost blinding my eyes from the light. The colour siding of the house was a light beige with white doors and paneling. The roof looked like one of castles'. It had turrets twisting up to the sky and circular rooms also. I knew that Yuna was rich . . .but THIS rich! This isn't a summer home; this is a summer mansion!

"Come on, Kairi! Let's go unpack!" A cheerful voice said from behind me. Sora ran out in front of me, his backpack strapped to his back and his sandals dangling down from his hands. He smiled at me as I hurried to catch up to him, feeling the closeness of our relationship growing yet again. Somehow, the feeling of white sand underneath my feet and the warm sun beaming down on my back made me feel so much more alive. I headed up to the front door and ran up the steps, dragging my bag along with me.

Once inside the dark and cool entryway, I shoved my stuff over by the wall with everyone else's' belongings. The floor was a lightwood, with all sorts of cute little pillars and railings. I looked above me and saw that it led straight upwards to the roof with a winding staircase around it. Up at the roof was a skylight where our current light source was coming from. I felt so small in a place like this . . .

"Okay, listen up everyone!" Yuna called to our attention while standing on the third step so everyone could see her. I looked in her direction and when she saw all eyes on her, she smiled down at us happily. "Welcome to my summer home on the island of Emerald Sands! I hope you will all enjoy this trip I made for us all but we need to go over a few rules. Now, I really don't want to sound like my mother or anything, but these are important! The girls' rooms will be on the second floor. The boys' rooms will be on the third. Now, no guy is to go onto the second floor without a girls' permission or to get downstairs and no girl is to go onto the third floor without a guys' permission, got it? Also, nobody is allowed in the ocean past 12:00 unless we're all out there, okay? You can walk along the beach at any time, but just don't go swimming whenever you like. As you all may have noticed, there is a forest behind this house. Be very careful within it. It's very easy to get lost in. Okay? You guys think you got it? There's just one more rule I have to state before I let you all go to your floors:" she said to us as Riku groaned in annoyance and impatience. After grinning around at everyone, she said:

"Have fun!"

:LATER AGAIN:

  
Yuna's POV:

It's amazing how big the sky looks when you're out in the open . . .

I sighed quietly to myself and ran my fingers through the white sand on which I was sitting upon. The huge and never-ending ocean stretched out in front of me like a gigantic pink and purple blanket. The setting sun reflected its' beauty upon the gentle sea, making it look as if it were painted there. The waves lapped gently upon the sand near me and pulled back into its' depths once more, only to return again. The salty smell of the sea relaxed me in a way I thought was not possible. Seagulls cawed from above, circling around, looking for any fallen food. The sound of the waves calmed my senses and made my eyes droop from sleepiness. This place is so beautiful . . .why didn't I come here before with my friends?

"Is it okay if I sit with you?"

I looked up and behind me to see Tidus standing near me, his light blonde hair blowing off of his face gently from the breeze. His gorgeous blue eyes seemed to mimic the ocean, how they almost looked pink and purple like the sky. He was wearing khaki shorts and a red short-sleeved shirt. He was holding his sandals in his right hand and smiled down at me sweetly. For a moment, I was frozen in embarrassment. I had brought Tidus along with the rest of us so I could finally get to talk to him without anyone being around. This is my chance . . .don't blow it.

"Yea . . .yea, you can. I don't mind," I said rather quickly, moving my sandals onto my other side to make room for him. A deep blush started to form on my cheeks as he sat down next to me—really close. I told myself over and over again in my mind to play it cool and not act stupid . . .but it was so hard not to . . .Here we are . . .sharing this moment together on the beach at sunset . . .can it get anymore romantic?

"You know," Tidus began suddenly, ripping me from my thoughts. I looked over at him, who was staring out to sea with a dazed expression on his face. Another breeze came and blew around his beautiful locks of gold. "I've never liked the ocean . . .I always thought of it as something boring . . .like a big bathtub or something. But now that I'm here tonight . . ." he broke off from his sentence and looked around to face me. A warm smile crept onto his lips and made my heart melt. Despite the dark blush glowing on my cheeks, I felt completely comfortable here with him . . .

"With you, I like it a lot . . ." he finished, that smile still on his face. I couldn't help but to smile back at him. He's so sweet . . .did I really change his perspective on something? Can I really do that? My heart continued to pound ceaselessly, but I ignored it. The world around me seemed to melt away and it was only him and I. Even the beautiful sunset and ocean didn't seem important anymore. They were just objects of no importance . . .Tidus was what I was really thinking about.

"You probably want me to leave, now, don't ya?" he said suddenly and stood to his feet. I was pulled out of my fantasy and back to reality at these words. I started to panic about losing him and the moment, so I reached up and grabbed his arm. After realizing what I had just done, I let go quickly.

"No . . .it's all right . . .I like being with you . . ." I mumbled quietly to myself more than him. I looked away from his eyes and back on the sand that I started to poke nervously. I'm so stupid. Why did I even think for a moment that he had the same feelings for me as I did for him? He probably just considers me a 'good friend'. I'll never be anything more to him than that. I blew it . . .

Something warm grabbed my hand and I glanced back up to see his smiling face again. He was holding my hand . . .and he was smiling . . .He . . .wanted to stay with me too . . .

"I like being with you, too . . .really . . ." he told me softly, his grasp on my hand growing tighter. That blush that was still on my cheeks was growing hotter and hotter by the second. The mere presence of him makes me feel warm inside . . .he has that kind of effect on me . . .it's amazing. His hand suddenly slipped out of mine and he turned around to walk away. I wanted to stop him, or even walk with him, but I felt like I couldn't do anything. I stood to my feet as well in a rush of panic of him leaving me, but didn't take a step towards him. With his back facing me, he said the next words that froze my heart my mind:

" . . .Because without you, I wouldn't be alive right now . . ."

What did he mean by that? Those words . . .they held a tight grasp on my heart and choked my breath. Whatever they meant . . .they scared me. I didn't know what he was trying to get at, but it was something I'll probably never understand. As I stood there, unmoving and hardly breathing, I watched him walk away from me, my chance of happiness leaving as well. It didn't work out this time . . .but I will have you someday . . .You won't ever walk away from me again . . .

I turned back around to face the sea that was fading into darkness along with the sun. The pink and purple skies were being clouded over with dark and ominous clouds. There would be no stars out tonight . . .it will probably rain.

It's amazing how big the sky looks when you're out in the open . . .

:EVEN MORE LATER:

"Get away from the fire! Do ya wanna burn your hand off?" I shouted over at Wakka who was, once again, trying to light a stick on fire to chase around Sora with. Wakka turned around and grinned at me, dropping the twig on the sand.

Night had fallen and we were now celebrating our arrival on Emerald Sands with a bonfire party. We already had a roaring blaze of a fire and music blaring from a huge stereo that Riku brought randomly. So far, Rikku and Selphie were already drunk. It hasn't even been an hour and they were already drunk out of their minds with at least six beers in their systems. Wakka was working on his drunkenness, too. Kairi, who already had her fill of alcohol didn't touch any, despite the obvious temptation. Getting drunk would be fun . . .I would do it, but I don't want to face responsibility if the cops came over to this side of the island, which would be rare, but you never know. Anything could happen. Sora picked up a beer once, took a sip from it, and spat it out on the ground. Riku was too busy getting more wood for the fire to stop and have a drink. I don't mind Riku not getting drunk . . .I don't want to know what will happen if he does . . .

"I'VE GOT YOU NOW!" a loud holler came from over by the fire again. I looked up from shoving more beers into the already-full cooler to see Wakka running around with a flaming twig, chasing Sora. Everyone started laughing except for Kairi and I who tried to knock Wakka over to extinguish the fire.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR DEAL?" Sora yelled at Wakka who was now lying underneath Kairi and I with a very satisfied look on his face. After stamping out the fire, we moved away from Wakka and glared at him. Sora threw a rock at Wakka and it hit him in the head, but his drunken mind was so out of it that he didn't realize it, let alone felt the pain. I sighed to myself but smiled. My friends are so funny sometimes . . .

"I'll be right back everyone . . .there are more drinks in the fridge," I called behind me as I strolled up the beach back to the house. Once inside, I opened up the refrigerator and looked around for some more beers that were going down quickly. I spotted about seven of them and placed them all on a little tray beside the oven. I kicked the fridge closed with my foot and walked back outside. When I neared the bonfire, I saw something that made me drop the tray I was carrying with a clatter. I stood, frozen on the spot, and staring at the site before my eyes. I had to be dreaming or imagining this . . .it can't be true . . .IT CAN'T BE!

Rikku was sitting in the lap of Tidus and was making out wildly with him. Tidus didn't seem to be showing any signs of resistance, which only made it worse for me. That _whore_ . . .HOW COULD SHE DO THAT? Well . . .she is drunk. But that still doesn't give her an excuse to go and give my obvious crush a lapdance! I clenched my hands into fists and started to boil with anger. Despite my fury, tears started to roll out of my eyes. They splashed down onto the sand in tiny drops. Nobody could see me in the darkness and away from the light of the fire, and I'm glad they couldn't.

My feet started to run before my mind told them to. I headed in the direction of the woods, my tears blinding my vision. My mind was so fogged up with thoughts that I couldn't think straight and I just wanted to get away. I must have tripped at least 20 times while trying to trudge through the domed sand to the woods. When the surface I was running on change to grass and mud, I tripped and fell flat on my face. The warm earth and dirt smeared onto my face and I felt a throb in my nose, but I ignored it and stood back up. I continued to run blindly through the trees on no path whatsoever. I had no idea where I was going, but I didn't care. I just wanted to get out of that place as soon as I could. The tears still continued to run down my cheeks, but dried quickly on my face as the wind rushed past me.

It wasn't long until I realized I was lost. I stopped running to the gratitude of my legs and bare feet that were stinging from running on rocks. I gazed around in the surrounding darkness, trying to find some sign that I was near any kind of civilization. It was useless . . . I knew myself that these woods were extremely thick and dense . . .at least there weren't any sorts of wild animals I didn't know about living in here as well.

To make matters worse, the sky opened up at that exact moment and the rain poured down onto me. The water dripped down my hair and on my face, mixing in with my salty tears. I let out a frightened sob when I came to the conclusion that I was hopelessly lost and I'll never find my way out of here. Nobody will find me . . .nobody will come to look for me. The only person I know that will come to find me would be Kairi, but she wouldn't go alone. I though that Tidus loved me . . .I _thought_ that . . .but it seemed so true. But . . .I shouldn't let fantasies get the better of me. We weren't meant to be no matter how many times I had told myself that. I just imagined us being together, hoping for it to become a reality, but it only stayed in my mind, and that's where it shall remain.

A fork of lightening flashed across the sky and a loud clap of thunder quickly followed it. I jumped at the sudden sound besides the dripping of the rain on the forest floor. The air had suddenly grown chilly and I started to wish I had worn something a little bit warmer besides this halter top and skirt. I shivered violently and squinted around in the darkness and rain to look for anything inviting. I had to take shelter from the rain and cold. How stupid of me not to remember that it gets freezing cold on this island at night! I can be mad at myself later, but right then, I needed to go under something.

The only things I saw clearly through all this muddy darkness were trees. I knew it wasn't smart to go up in a tree during a thunderstorm, but lightning never strikes here . . .I think. Besides, there's nothing else here that I can see that will keep me dry from the rain and warm from the cold. The volcano is too far away (which has caves and such) so this would do.

I climbed up the nearest tree with difficulty (for being in a skirt), but slowly made my way up to a low hanging branch. Once there, I situated myself in a temporary comfortable spot and hugged my shoulders. My teeth began to chatter involuntarily and I shook my head free from the water. The leaves above my head were protecting me from any of the rain, but still, lightning flashed endlessly across the sky, and the thunder echoed in my rib cage. Nonetheless, I closed my eyes for some desperate sleep and to try to make this night end faster. Dawn was so far from then, though . . .

Please find me . . .

  
Kairi's POV:

"Aw, SHIT!" Riku yelled in frustration, throwing a pile of wood that he was carrying to fuel the fire on the sand. I couldn't help but to giggle at his anger. He has been working to keep this fire raging for hours now, and then it rains. Oh well . . .The cold raindrops ran through my short hair and trickled down my neck, causing me to shiver. It was starting to get cold . . .

"I'M NOT GONNA LET SOME STUPID RAIN RUIN MY FUN TIME ON THE BEACH!" Selphie declared, standing in the pouring rain, soaking wet, determined not to move. She whipped out a lighter and a cigarette and flicked the flame on, attempting to smoke in the pouring rain. God . . .when she's drunk, she does really stupid things . . .even smoke. Selphie doesn't smoke and I don't want her to. I reached over to her and grabbed the lighter before she could light one up,seized her hand and pulled my drunken friend back to the house just as a big flash of lightning crossed the sky. An extremely loud roar of thunder followed this, causing me to jump out of my skin. Selphie giggled feebly behind me as I continued to drag her along to the dry inside of the house.

We stepped inside and left wet footprints everywhere we went. I let go of Selphie and she staggered off to somewhere. Rikku was cornering Tidus in a corner and trying to kiss him, so it seemed. He looked completely uncomfortable and kept glancing nervously around for any means of escape. Watching them reminded me of how Yuna had that one dream once that she suddenly stood up in class and tackled Tidus to the floor and started making out with him. Apparently, to Yuna, that was a very good dream, but I remember laughing at it during lunch when she told us about it.

Wait—Yuna? Yuna! Where is she? She went in here about 20 minutes ago . . .and I haven't seen her since! What? Where is she? What could have happened to her? I wonder if she's okay . . .

"YUNA! YUNA, ARE YOU IN HERE?" I shouted frantically throughout the house, trying to listen for any kind of response. Everybody else who was talking merrily stopped their conversations and looked at me worriedly. They hadn't realized her absence either . . .

"Yea . . .where _is_ she?" Sora pondered out loud, glancing around the room for any trace of the girl. Panic started to seize my throat and stomach and at that moment, I lost my breath. Something must have happened . . .but . . .what? She's not here . . .nor is she outside where we were . . .why didn't I think about this earlier? Why didn't anyone else notice that she was gone?

"Yuna's missing?" Tidus asked me, panic rising in his voice. He pushed past Rikku and started to open doors to find her. He ran up the stairs and onto the second floor, where he started to search in our rooms. Selphie shouted something about 'breaking the rules', but we didn't listen to her. Something more important than little rules was at stake. One from our group was missing . . .and nowhere to be found . . .

"THE WOODS! She must have ran off into there!" Tidus suddenly exclaimed, jumping from the second floor to the first by jumping off of the railing. He landed in front of me with a thud and started to sprint towards the door. Riku jumped from out of nowhere and blocked the front door. Tidus gave him a hard glare, but Riku wouldn't move.

"Don't just go running into the woods alone at night, we need to go in groups," he said sternly, still not budging a muscle. Tidus gave a sigh of irritation and impatience and turned around. He stomped over to the couch and flopped down on it, the worry still shining in his blue eyes. Riku walked away from the door and stood on the third step of the staircase so we could all see him. He looked around at all of us for a minute or so, then began.

"It would be easier to find her if we go in groups. Now, since Selphie, Rikku and Wakka are drunk out of their minds and will be no use whatsoever, you guys can all stay here while the rest of us go out to search for her. Now, partners . . ." he looked from one person to the next. I could read every thought that was running through his head by his expressions and I frowned. He didn't want to be paired with me because he hates me . . .he doesn't want to be paired with Sora because he hates him as well . . .and as much as he hates it, he has to pair me with Sora.

"Sora and Kairi, you'll be a group. Tidus and I will be the other, got it?" he instructed through clenched teeth. Even though he hates me . . .he doesn't want me with Sora . . .I can tell that's the truth by the way his aqua eyes flashed dangerously when he said our names. Another clap of thunder broke the awkward silence. Tidus stood up from where he was sitting so suddenly, almost all of us jumped.

"WE CAN'T WASTE ANYMORE TIME! IF WE WANT TO FIND HER BY DAWN, WE NEED TO GO NOW!" he shouted, pointing towards the still-open door. Riku sighed in annoyance. Tidus breathed heavily and glared furiously at Riku who was giving an icy glare as well. The whole situation was starting to freak me out . . .what if something has happened to her? What would we do? What if we can't find her?

"Let's go," Riku ordered all of us as he walked over to the front door and stepped outside. Sora and I exchanged brief glances before we, too, followed him back out into the rain. The chilly air greeted my bare shoulders and legs as I took a few steps out on the porch. I shivered like crazy, but still followed the shadow of Riku ahead of us. I could hear Tidus and Sora behind me, their teeth chattering so loud that I could hear it. Riku lead us to the edge of the deep forest and stopped to turn and face us just as another fork of lightning split through the dark sky. The thunder that followed seemed to rattle my very bones and send shivers up my spine. Riku's aquamarine eyes seemed to glow in the lightning flashes, giving him the appearance of being something fictional.

"Now, don't forget to stick together, got it? She could be anywhere, but try not to get lost as well. If you find her, whistle as loud as you can and maybe we'll hear you. Go," he ordered at us and then ran into the woods with Tidus trailing behind without another word. Their figures quickly disappeared in the darkness of the forest and they were gone. Sora and I didn't move at first, but then he started off into the woods as well. I had no other choice but to follow him. The light that was coming from the inside of the summer home vanished as soon as I took four steps into the woods, blocking out most of the light. The trees above me sheltered me from the majority of the rain, but still, some leaked out and onto my already soaking wet head.

I could barely see Sora in front of me, and had to run to keep up with his pace. He didn't seem to be caring whether or not I was right behind him or not; he was too determined on finding Yuna. I did my best to maintain a steady pace, but after a while, I started to trip over branches and roots in the middle of the path. Once or twice, I actually fell to the ground, but Sora didn't stop to help me up. I got back to my feet, determined on not losing sight of him. It seemed to be only growing darker and darker by the second and we still had no sign of any light. Lightning still crossed the sky almost twice a minute, of course followed by an explosion of sound from the thunder. To make matters worse, the thunder and lightning seemed to be occurring closer and closer to each other by the second, signaling the heart of the storm.

"YUUUNAA!" Sora called out loudly, his voice echoing through the empty forest. A scurrying sound nearby made me jump and glance around wildly for any danger. There weren't any bears in here . . .right? He stopped running and I bumped into the back of him, unable to stop in time because my sandals slid in the mud. He paid no attention to my dilemma and called out her name once again. There was no sound of response from her anywhere except for another clap of thunder.

I shivered violently from a chill that came from the soaking rain and cold wind. My teeth started to chatter like crazy and I felt my muscles vibrate to produce any sort of heat. The temperature only seemed to be dropping as well. Sora didn't act cold at all, but I saw him shiver once, only to ignore it completely. His seriousness was starting to freak me out . . .I've never seen him so straight-faced before. It didn't seem like this was the same person I've known for so long. Why won't he talk to me? He knows I'm here, right?

"There's a volcano here, right?" He suddenly addressed to me, still not facing me, but staring directly out in front of him. I nodded my head even though he couldn't see and he just started to randomly run off again without seeing my response. I followed, of course, tripping and stumbling along the way as usual. What was he planning on doing on that volcano? It's extinct, so it's not like we're going to get warmth from it or something. Was he planning on actually going on top of it to see if we can spot Yuna's location? It might work, but the rain and trees will make it almost impossible to spot anything.

Were we even running in the right direction? How did he know where we were going? I couldn't see a thing in the dark, so how could he? I didn't ask these questions out loud, but continued to run through the muddled darkness and trees, focusing on the boy in front of me. It's so easy to get lost in here . . .its no wonder that Yuna disappeared in a place like this . . .

A looming shadow appeared in front of me and I paused for just enough to see the volcano before us. How . . .did we find it . . .? It rose above all of the trees ominously, breaking the sky in two with its' mass. Lightning forked across the sky above it, lighting it for a near second. I didn't have time to marvel at it, I had to keep running. I was losing track and sight of Sora the further we got in the forest. I was still confused by what he had in mind by running towards this, but I didn't question him. The rain still trickled down my neck and caused another shiver to run up and down my spine. My hands, by now, were numb and I squeezed them tightly to regain some lost feeling within them.

Sora started to run up the side of the mountain, only stumbling for a moment, but never lost his speed. I trailed behind him, tripping several times, but not making any sort of commotion to cause him to stop and help me. I wanted to prove, for some reason, that I don't have to depend on others, and that I can take care of myself. The last thing I really needed was someone to carry me or something like that . . .

We were about halfway up the mountainside when it happened. A rock that I had stepped on slipped out from underneath me in the mud and I started to fall backwards. I reached my hands out for something to grab onto, but I only grabbed air. I was facing the dark and stormy sky for one, slow motion-like second, and then I crashed back down to earth with a breath-taking force. I started to roll down the mountain, hitting any given rock that got in my path and getting a coat of mud as well. I couldn't see anything, because I had closed my eyes tightly in fear of seeing what I was getting myself into. The next thing I knew, my leg seared with pain and I screamed bloody-murder, but still continued to slide down the mountain. How far were we from the ground? It seemed like months until I came to a stop in the mud, my head spinning and my leg throbbing. Tears brimmed in my eyes from the stinging, but I refused to cry.

I didn't hear his footsteps, but I knew he was beside me. I didn't open my eyes, but I knew he was looking at my leg. I didn't cry out, but I knew he could see my pain. He didn't say a word, but just slipped his hands underneath me and pulled me out of the mud. I was suspended in air and in the arms of Sora. The pain didn't cease in my leg, and my head still spun wildly, but I felt somewhat comforted. I don't want to be a burden . . .but here I am . . .causing everyone trouble again . . .

"You'll be okay . . .There's a cave over there and we'll go in there for now, ok? Just don't think about the pain . . ." he whispered softly in my ear, his voice somewhat filled with panic, even though his words were calm and soothing. I nodded my head and it pounded with pain. I gulped down some excess spit and bit my lower lip as he trudged through the mud and trees to a place I couldn't see. I wanted to open my eyes, but I didn't think that I would be able to handle it . . .

The rain stopped pouring on my head and I then opened my eyes to see I was inside a little cave. It was completely dark in here, but that didn't matter . . .as long as we had some shelter from the rain and lightning, I was okay with it. How long were we going to stay out here, though? We have to go back sometime, or signal the others eventually . . .but what if they start searching for us as well? Why does this always have to happen to me!

"Here, stay here while I go find something that's not soaking to make a fire . . ." Sora told me gently, his voice still soft in my ear as he laid me down on the cold and hard ground. My back stung with a sharp pain from my fall, but I bit back the pain without showing any emotion. He made it sound like I will jump up and run away . . .but I can't . . .if it weren't for the continuous pain, I wouldn't be able to feel my leg. I watched him silently as he walked to the back of the cave and squinted around in the dark. After what seemed like 20 minutes, he came back with a bundle of twigs in his arms. He threw them down on the ground somewhat near me and stared at them as if hoping that they would magically burst into flames.

The little lump in my pocket seemed to vibrate to catch my attention. I reached a shaking, numb hand into it and pulled out the lighter I had confiscated from Selphie earlier. The object almost brought a happy and grateful smile upon my face, but I stopped myself. I couldn't bring my lips into a curve of a meek and weak smile . . .I just . . .couldn't . . .

"I have this . . ." I whispered out to him in a raspy voice unlike my own. Sora averted his attention to me and noticed the little green lighter in my hand. I read his expression of what he was thinking and threw it towards his general direction, not finding the strength in my arms.

"I don't smoke . . .I was trying to keep Selphie from it so I took it away from her . . ." I explained, reassuring him of his thoughts. He picked up the lighter, a better look in his eyes than from before. He turned away from me and flicked it on. After a minute or so, a light appeared in the dark of the cave. The flame started to grow and so did the heat. My numb and stinging hands appreciated the warmth of the fire and I started to feel them again.

Sora suddenly unzipped his jacket, which caught my eye. I gasped out quickly, thinking he was going to change or something right in front of me, and felt a warm blush rise on my cheeks. What was he doing? I looked away, thinking that that was the fact of the matter, but he quickly grabbed my shoulder to turn me back around. I did so grudgingly, the blush still growing more and more rapidly on my face. He was wearing a blue tee shirt (thankfully) underneath his black jacket and was holding the jacket out towards me. I didn't know what to do.

"We need to wrap up your ankle . . .it's starting to swell," he indicated my sore and bright red ankle. Wrap . . .it . . .up? Oh . . .yea. _That_ ankle. How could I be so stupid!

He gently lifted up my leg and slipped the soaking wet cloth underneath my ankle and wrapped it around the sore several times. I winced in slight pain at the tightness of the bond, but didn't cry out. He tied a knot (somehow) with the heavy and thick material and leaned back with a satisfied look on his face. I almost laughed at his seriousness that was really starting to get to me. I wish he would laugh . . .or smile . . .

Outside of the little cave we were sitting in, the storm continued to rage on ceaselessly. The wind howled like a freight train and the rain came down like a steady beat on the leaf-strewn ground. Freezing cold wind continued to blow into the cave and made the fire flicker and pop and cause me to shiver involuntarily. Despite the warm fire, the wind still made the temperature in the dark and dank cave below comfort and I continued to long for something warm to put around my shoulders. I kept glancing nervously over at Sora who was trying so hard to not show that he was cold, but it was obvious by how he kept clenching his fists every now and then. We sat in silence, with nothing but the raging storm and popping fire to make any noise. It was so awkward to be in the same place as him . . .though I spent two days with him when he was hurt before . . .it still felt so awkward . . .like, everytime we said something to one another, there was a moment of silence in between when one of us would sigh or fidget in our position, thinking of what else to say.

"You're cold, aren't you?"

I glanced up from staring at the cave floor and poking at the dirt with my index finger at this abrupt interruption of the silence. He was staring me directly in the eyes, his blue eyes dancing in the flames of the fire. I shivered again. Oh, I guess I was. I didn't say anything and I guessed I didn't need to because he just smiled in a casual way and inched over towards me. The closer he got to me, the brighter my face grew. He was now sitting beside me and was smiling at me as if I had said or done something funny. My heart started to pound uncontrollably and my breath came in short little pants, both from the cold, and my nerves.

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and held me close to his chest. This sudden action caught the breath in my chest. I couldn't move and I was blushing so much, I thought I was going to explode inside. He held me so tight, the warmth coming off of his chest as I remained frozen inside, unable to think or move. I didn't know if he was trying to produce some warmth, or just trying to comfort me by embracing me like this! He rested his chin on the top of my head and sighed heavily. I still didn't know what to do . . .was I supposed to hug him back or just stay where I was?

"You're freezing . . .I don't want you catching a cold . . ." he whispered gently in my ear, his voice so soft and sweet. Another chilling wind blew through the cave, making it whistle and howl like a wild and crazy animal. I shivered once more, letting the chill run up and down my spine like a tingling spider. Sora squeezed me harder and I felt a slight increase of the warmth. I started to freak out from all of this attention . . .

His words cut me into many little pieces that I couldn't put back together. He may just sound like he was talking to me casually, but with each breath he took, my heart pounded in anxiety. My mind had started to grow tired by now. The continuous sound of the rain falling on the ground soothed my mind and I felt drowsy. The warmth I was feeling from Sora melted away my numbness, but I still felt frozen inside; like I would never be warm again.

It wasn't until the cave started to slide in and out of focus before my eyes that I realized I was growing weaker and weaker by the second. My head began to ping with little pains from the fall and it hurt everytime I drew breath. My body felt used . . .tired as if I had just ran a marathon . . .everything was becoming blurry and unfocused and I kept blinking my eyes, hoping to see everything clear again. My eyes started to droop from this comforting atmosphere and I felt like falling asleep right there. I sighed quietly, my head throbbing with the breath, and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I looked up at the person holding me, but I didn't see Sora . . .it was . . .someone else . . .someone blurry . . .my teeth started to chatter and I shivered once again, seeing my breath before me. The scene around me was spinning again and I felt faint . . .even weak . . .

"I'm so sorry . . ." I whispered to the blur that I now saw had silver hair. It was Riku . . .when did he get here? Oh well . . .he's with me . . .he doesn't hate me anymore . . .we're okay again . . .he looked down on me and smiled in a warm and caring way, his aqua eyes dancing in the firelight as his pale skin pinked from the cold.

"It's all right . . .some things just happen . . .it was just an accident," he assured me with that smile still on his face. How was our episode in the car 'an accident'? Was he trying to fool me? He knew very well that it was deliberate . . .

"No . . .I was such an idiot . . .but after all that's happened between us . . .I thought it would be a good way to forget. But it only got out of hand yet again and ruined our lives even more . . ." I whispered softly to him, my voice fading in and out with my consciousness. His expression that I was receiving from him was confusion, which only made me believe more that he was just trying to fool me. Why is he playing so dumb? He knows what I'm talking about . . .

"W-wha . . .?"

"Listen to me! I'm just really sorry for everything . . .I've tried and tried again to get you to return these feelings to me . . .but I've never succeeded. The only time you really kissed me was when we were both not in the right minds . . .I'm just so sorry . . ." I slurred out to him, my mind going numb again. I losing this battle for him . . .I had to do something . . .if my tired body will allow it . . .

I leaned up towards him, my back protesting against my movement, until I was face-to-face with him. He stared at me, his eyes wide in confusion as I stared back at him. I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his in a loose kiss. At first, he didn't kiss me back; he only watched me, a look of amazement spread across his face. Then, he kissed me back, gently at first, but then a bit more serious. I went with it, my head pounding along and my strength giving out every now and then. After a while, I collapsed in his arms, my strength gone and the room still whirling around me. The cold numbed my senses and I couldn't feel any part of my body. I closed my eyes slowly, happy to have finally fallen asleep . . .

  
SORA'S POV:

I stared at her limp body, a million thoughts racing through my mind.

What was that about?

Why was she talking to me like that?

What _was_ she talking about?

Who did she think I was?

I shook my head mentally and shivered yet again, clenching my fists together. The storm seemed to have died down for the minute, but the chilling air still remained. Tidus and Riku were still probably out there . . .or had they found Yuna yet? Hopefully nothing bad happened in the process of finding her . . .were they now looking for us? I sighed and looked back down at Kairi, who had fallen asleep rather quickly. Her chest rose up and down as she breathed steadily, but still shivered every now and then. Her lips were a dark purple and blue and her face was bloomed with pink. The jacket I had used on her ankle was starting to dry as her leg rested near the fire that was slowly dying down. When it was gone . . .there wouldn't be anymore light in here . . .and our warmth would be gone as well . . .

Did she think I was Riku or somebody like that? When she said 'I thought it would be a good way to forget', she might have been talking about when she got drunk a couple of nights ago and made-out with Riku. Thinking about the very subject made my blood boil. My best friend had enough nerve to go behind my back to do something like that to the girl he knew I liked. I haven't talked to him since . . .I don't necessarily want to. So . . .when Kairi was talking to me right now, did she think I was him? How could she possibly substitute a guy like Riku for _me_? It seemed almost impossible . . .but I had no other explanation for the situation. Come to think of it . . .her eyes did look rather unfocused and light when she was saying all those things to me. Could she have been hallucinating or something? From the cold? From her ankle? From both?

As I continued to stare down at her, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed reasonable and logical. She might have been so cold or in so much pain that her mind started to wander and not be able to focus on anything. She seriously thought that I was Riku . . .the thought startled me in a way I thought couldn't be possible. Then . . .she only kissed me because of that reason. She doesn't love me . . .she doesn't think of me in that way . . .what was I expecting?

The wind outside of the cave continued to blow ceaselessly and I looked up suddenly, thinking that I had heard an unknown noise coming from outside. It was nothing . . .just the wind . . .but I could've sworn I had heard footsteps . . .and I though for a fleeting second that it was Tidus and Riku coming to look for us . . .or just passing by on their search for Yuna. I was wrong, and the wind howled at my hope.

Kairi stirred in her sleep and turned to face me, her face still pale except for her pink cheeks. I smiled down at her, glad that she was okay and not hurt too seriously. After she had come to me on that day at school and spilled out her heart and begged for my "friendship" again, my feelings towards her changed. I saw, from that moment on, that she really treasured others before herself and would be willing to do anything for her friends. I never knew she was so caring and kind . . .and knowing that only made me want to love her even more. She didn't realize it, though, that for the longest time, I had loved her . . .from afar . . .from right beside her in her closet . . .she never noticed . . .because . . .to her . . .

. . . I was just a friend . . .

A/N: THAT WAS THE LONGEST CHAPPIE I HAVE WRITTEN IN THE HISTORY OF MY FICS! WOOO! CELEBRATION:parties: Lol. So . . .like I said before, this one had A LOT more to it than my others . . .did you guys think so, too? I spent so much time on this chappie and it eventually grew into something huge! I know that it seemed a little strange, but this fic needed a change in the setting.

If you're wondering about the whole "dillusional Kairi" thing, I added that for effect. I mean, I wanted a touchy a moment and, with the help from my friends, THAT WAS BORN! Lol.

So, I hope you guys liked this one a lot and pleaseX500 review this fic! Thank you!

K-c


	12. Angels Have Their Flaws

Unforeseen Attraction  
By: K-c 

A/N: BONJOUR! I'm glad that the last chappie satisfied everyone! Well, to make you guys feel even more special, here comes ch. 12! Wow! I can't believe I'm already on this chappie! It seemed like it would take much longer than this! Oh well! Here ya go!

Disclaimer: I do not own KH characters or FF characters or any of that stuff.

Ch.12: Angels Have Their Flaws

_"Nobody knows the story of tomorrow's dawn . . ."_

Yuna's POV:

Please . . .just please . . .come and find me . . .don't leave me out here . . .

I shivered and shook my head of soaking wet brown hair out of my eyes. The rain had ceased and the storm seemed to have been moving on, leaving the world behind it dripping wet. The cold air still remained, though, freezing the rain on my skin and turning my hair into icicles (or so it felt). It was still night, but the sun was going to rise soon and bring warm air back across this land. I couldn't see the dawn, though, on the horizon because trees surrounded me. My back was aching from leaning up against the tree that I had taken refuge in and my stomach continued to growl painfully. I couldn't feel anything in my legs or arms and no matter how much I shook them to produce some warmth, I received none.

What did I do to deserve this? All I wanted was to bring a bunch of my friends down here for Spring Break, but I only received misery. Even if my actions were a little too drastic for the measures, I wasn't thinking straight and all I wanted to do was run and hide. How would I have known that I would only end up getting lost in the middle of the woods in the middle of a thunderstorm stuck in a tree and left to freeze to death?

I sighed quietly to myself and breathed in the morning air. Birds started to chirp around me in the trees, signaling the coming day not too far away. It wouldn't be long before somebody came to find me . . .if nobody does, then I'll have to go and try to find my way back to the house on my own . . .maybe it would be easier to find in the daylight?

A sudden sound caught my ears and I looked around below me for the source. It sounded like footsteps crunching on the fallen leaves and squishing in the mud. Someone was coming this way . . .I squinted in the fading darkness to see anything that could be moving and be my savior. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't see a single thing. Then, suddenly, it was right underneath me. The sound of footsteps was crossing below me and I caught a quick glimpse of something red. My heart started to pound as my blood pumped inside of me with excitement.

"UP HERE!" I screamed as loud as I could to the person below me. The footsteps ceased and there was a moment of silence as I leaned over the branch I was sitting on and waving my arms, trying to catch the attention of whoever it was.

"Up where? Is that you, Yuna?" a voice that I immediately recognized as Tidus' called out to me, sounding as if he was facing the opposite direction. The anger that I had been feeling toward him all through the night seemed to melt away instantly . . .he had come to find me . . .he truly cares about me . . .

"I'M UP HERE!" I called out again, flailing my arms around wildly, hoping to catch his eye. There was more silence that followed it. Turn around! Turn around! All at once, I wobbled back and forth and lost my balance. I started to fall forwards and off of the branch that was high up off of the ground. I reached my hands out to grab something, but I only grabbed air. I let out a little squeal of surprise as I fell down. The air rushed past me and I closed my eyes . . .but then I landed . . .on something soft . . .that groaned in pain . . .

" . . .Tidus . . .?" I whispered quietly, feeling my hand on what I had landed on and felt his soft locks. My heart raced and I quickly leapt off of him, embarrassment seizing me. In the meager light, I saw the red form slowly rise to his feet and face me. I didn't know what to do; I just stood in silence, hoping that he wasn't mad at me or anything.

" . . .I'm sorry . . .I should've been more care—"

I was swept into a tight embrace and my words choked. There was no need to finish my sentence . . .everything was all right . . .I hugged him back, tears of happiness and gratitude rolling down my cheeks. To be in his arms . . .to be in his presence . . .it was a wonderful feeling . . .something that I never wanted to forget . . .

"I . . .I was so worried about you . . .I've found you . . .I've found you at last . . ." he whispered softly in my ear as he hugged me tighter, his wet clothes pressing up against my already soaking body. I closed my eyes and smiled for the first time in a while . . .he pulled back from our embrace and suddenly pressed his lips upon mine firmly. I was slightly taken aback from this action, but I kissed him just as much. My blood was pounding through my veins and my heart throbbed continuously as we kissed.

"Um . . .sorry to ruin this _touching_ moment, but do you think that this would be a good time to signal the others?" a sarcastic voice spoke up from out of nowhere from somewhere behind Tidus. We broke apart and I squinted to see silver hair glinting in the rising sun. Riku was here too . . . how embarrassing! I blushed deeply and looked away quickly. The others . . .who would _that_ be? Maybe Sora is out here as well looking for me . . .maybe Kairi joined him as well . . .All of these people came out to look for me in the woods in the pouring rain . . .risking their lives in the lightning . . .Gratitude welled up inside of me like a gigantic balloon. These are my friends . . .these are _my_ friends . . .

A loud and high-pitched whistle ripped through the silence and made me jump out of my skin. Tidus had his two fingers together and was blowing through them to issue that deafening screech. The shrill sound echoed through the dense forest, repeating itself over and over again. Another shriek pierced the new silence as he whistled again, obviously listening for some kind of response. We waited in silence . . .not hearing a single thing.

"Where could they be?" Tidus asked to himself more than anybody else after he whistled yet again. His voice was so full of concern and worry and I took his hand and held it in mine. His hand was freezing and felt almost dead, but in a matter of seconds, it was warm again. The sun was now almost completely over the horizon (from what I could see beyond the trees) and things were becoming visible. I could see the volcano looming up over the trees in the distance, the sun shining off of the wet leaves on the trees on the side of it.

"I knew it," Riku muttered under his breath irritably and leaned up against the nearest tree. Tidus and I looked around at him, waiting for an explanation for his words. "I knew those two would go and get lost as well. I shouldn't have even brought them along. So now we have to go find them, too. This is pathetic . . ."

Tidus broke away from my grasp and walked over to Riku and stood before him. He was glaring at him, almost all of his fury shining through those sky-blue eyes of his. Riku showed no emotion to this reaction, just a very bored look. This only seemed to make Tidus even angrier.

"You know what? You can just go on ahead and leave for all I care. Good luck trying to find your way out of this damn place, but if you don't wanna stay with us, go on. Leave. I don't care . . ." he growled from in between clenched teeth. Riku smirked in a casual way and moved away from the tree and past Tidus. At first, I thought he was going to leave for sure, but he turned around to stare at us, that smirk still visible on his face.

"Are you two coming or what?" he asked us coldly and turned around to walk away. Tidus and I exchanged quick and confused glances before catching up to him. We walked at a slightly slow pace through the woods, plowing through the mud that clung to my sandals and soon submerged my feet. Every now and then, Tidus would stop and give another screeching whistle to only receive silence. My legs wobbled from underneath me from being numb and not moving for eight hours and a couple or times I stumbled and almost fell to the ground, but caught myself before doing so. I had no idea where we were going to try to go looking for the "others", but Riku seemed to be knowing exactly where he was heading and Tidus and I just followed his lead.

  
Kairi's POV:

Where . . .am I? Why am I . . .so cold? 

I opened my eyes grudgingly and blinked a few to let my vision settle on one object. I was in a cave . . .and I was soaking wet . . .and freezing cold . . .cave . . .cave . . .cave? CAVE! _THAT_ CAVE!

I sat bolt upright and glanced frantically around the small chamber of stone, trying to recollect on my thoughts. Sunlight was slowly creeping into the darkness that surrounded me and I could hear birds chirping cheerfully outside and faraway. I tried to move, but a sharp stinging in my leg caught my attention. I looked down to see a black jacket tied tightly around my bright red ankle. It was throbbing in pain and seemed slightly swelled and bruised. I turned around and saw a sleeping form right beside myself. I almost jumped backwards in alarm at his peaceful face.

He's right beside me . . .his jacket is on my ankle . . .I don't remember a single thing past the part of us entering this cave and he was carrying me . . .that's all I remember . . .what had happened in those few hours? He looks so tired . . .like a worn man who worked all day long to only receive a few precious hours of rest for his weary eyes. His lips were tinted in a light and almost unnoticeable blue shade and his face looked completely pale. His site frightened me . . .is he okay? Is he ALIVE? No . . .wait . . .he was breathing . . .

He began to stir in his position and grunted in a groggy sort of way. The image of us being in my closet popped back into my mind and I drifted off into a daydream. This is almost exactly what had happened between the two of us a couple of days ago . . .only that _I'm_ the one that's hurt and needs cared for. Maybe he thought of this as a way to repay his debt . . .by taking care of me and making sure that nothing happens to me . . .he . . .was caring about me . . .why does he do these things? What makes him stop and tend to me before himself? Is it something that I do?

"You're awake . . ."

I snapped out of my daze to look down and see his bright blue eyes shining in the rising rays of sunlight as he stared up at me, a small and very gentle smile on his purple lips. The ski under his eyes had a dark shadow underneath them and there was a tinge of red in his eyes that added to the sleepy look. Nonetheless, though, he was smiling up at me in a happy and relived sort of way. Had I given him trouble in the night? Did I do something wrong? He couldn't answer my questions and he remained silent as I stared at him with these thoughts running through my head. A couple moments of silence passed between us as usual and I looked away from his temptingly beautiful eyes.

"Listen . . .about last night . . ." he started, his voice taking on the tone of an upcoming question. I braced myself for whatever he was going to ask me, but he never got the chance to. A quiet little whistle came from faraway and echoed on past us. I froze where I was, listening intently for another chance to hear the sound. Sora, too, sat up from his spot and looked out toward the mouth of the cave, squinting in the bright, early morning sunlight for any sign of movement or the source of the whistle.

" . . .Was that—?"

"Yea, it was," he told himself more than me, still staring out in front of him like a watchdog. It hadn't occurred to me before then that Tidus and Riku were still out there, looking for Yuna all night. Here we were . . .sitting in a little cave . . .all safe and snug . . .when they probably searched all night. The whistle . . .that means that they have found her! They were probably all coming to look for _us_ now . . .I felt like such an idiot . . .getting lost on a search party . . .

Sora stood up suddenly and caused me to jump out of my skin from this sudden movement. I watched him as he waved his arms around to someone I couldn't see. The sound of shouting from far-off and the rustling of footsteps over leaves and splashing through mud reached my ears, and I, too, stood up beside him to try to catch a glimpse of everyone else. I couldn't tell what they were shouting at each other, but I recognized Riku's voice and my heart started to pound. He . . .was . . .here . . .I'm going to look weak and pathetic again . . .and in front of him, of all people.

Tidus suddenly appeared before me, running up the hill and through the trees and bushes with Yuna trailing behind him, holding his hand. She had a huge grin on her face and when she saw us inside of the cave, her grin spread even wider. Bringing up the rear was none other than Riku himself. He was coming at a mild jog, not looking too happy about finding us. The pounding of my heart ceased and almost died when he shot me a dark glare. Was he still mad at me? I suddenly felt weak and deprived of strength. My arms, which had been holding me up, started to shake and I collapsed in a heap on the dirt floor. My head was spinning like a carousel and I felt like I had to puke.

"Kairi!" I heard Tidus and Sora shout in unison as someone wrapped their arms around my shoulders. I didn't respond, fearing that if I were to say a word, I would only throw-up in the process. I felt as if all of my muscles had been taken away from me and I was just a pile of nothing. I could hardly breathe and I couldn't move an inch.

_What's . . .wrong with me . . .?_

"We have to get her back! Come on, help me!" I heard Sora order to the others, his voice fading in and out of my ears. I felt more hands reach under me and pull me upwards, suspending me into the air. I opened my eyes, but I only saw darkness. There was no difference between my closed eyelids and the world around me that seemed to be vanishing with every second. A loud ringing in my ears that started out as a little squeal was slowly becoming louder and louder with every breath I took. I gasped for air, but I only ended up shuddering in despair. I can't breathe . . .

_I . . .can't hear you . . ._

LATER

"It's all right . . .she only blacked out,"

"It's still my fault, though! Why does everything bad happen when I'm around her?"

"Don't blame yourself, it could've happened to anyone. You just happened to be there at the wrong time. I think it might have been just from exhaustion, the cold, and her ankle. She's going to be fine, now,"

"Will you all just shut up? All she did was zone out and you act as if she went into a coma!"

Riku . . .it's . . .you . . .I opened my eyes but only saw a blur of colour. The ringing in my ears had ceased for the moment, but the repercussions of it seemed to echo through my mind over and over again. Their voices sounded so far away . . .they seemed like they were millions of miles away from where I could possibly be. Where was I? Was I back at the house, or was I still at the cave? How did I get here? Am I okay?

"See, look! She's waking up!" I heard Yuna's voice announce anxiously from that faraway place they were at. The spinning and whirling of colours started to slow down and I could now focus on one thing instead of 3,000. Yuna's worried but grateful face was staring back at me, her green and blue eyes filled with happy tears. Behind her I saw Tidus standing, Sora sitting, and Riku sulking in a corner. As I looked around, I noted that I was, indeed, back inside of the summer home in the main room on a white leather couch. Above me was the skylight with beams of newly produced sunshine radiating down and onto the floor, signaling a bright and cloudless day after the storm. I sat up too quickly and my head pinged with sudden pain. Yuna tried to push me back down, but I refused. I faced Sora and stared at him until he lifted his face out of his hands and looked over at me. Seeing my recovery, he smiled wide and hurried over to my side. We kept our eyes locked on one another for a moment, smiling at each other.

"I'm sorry I caused you all so much trouble . . .I don't know what came over me," I mumbled under my breath sheepishly, now averting my gaze to the wooden floor covered in sunlight. There was an awkward moment of brief silence until a loud coughing sound came from over in the corner Riku was standing in. I glanced up at him and when he saw every eye on him, he quickly acted as if nothing was wrong with him. He must have been out in the rain all night and now he had a cold from it. He was that devoted in the search that he didn't even stop and sit down when he started to feel sick . . .

I looked back at the faces of Yuna and Sora. "Don't worry about it . . .you just needed rest. You're fine now . . .but your ankle is sprained. That won't be a problem either . . .just some relaxation will do the trick!" Yuna assured me cheerfully, giving me a warm and tender smile. I smiled back at her, grateful to have such good friends such as these . . .

"You guys are the best friends I could ever have!" I declared happily and giggled in a giddy way. Yuna and I embraced and when I pulled away from her, I saw shocked expressions on the faces of Riku and Sora. I glanced back and forth from the two of them, completely confused by their reactions, when they both looked away and at the floor, a sad glint now noticeable in their eyes. I didn't have time to question their actions, though, because at that moment, a very hungover Selphie stomped into the room, her hair sticking up everywhere and dark circles under her eyes. She slumped over to the fridge, opened it, took out a carton of lemonade and poured herself a glass. She didn't say a word as she staggered back up the stairs to the second floor with her completely full glass, but it was enough to break the silence. After she had gone, Riku stepped up the stairs as well and up to the third floor. We didn't hear anything else from him besides the slamming of a door for another five minutes.

Sora left the room next, followed by Tidus who said he was going upstairs to change out of his clothes. Yuna and I were the only ones in the room and even she left for a moment to get a pack of ice. As she flipped through the channels on the television on the couch across from me, I sat and thought about what was up with Riku and Sora. I recalled on the whole night and everything I had said to both of them . . .everything I did . . .I couldn't find a single thing wrong. I couldn't remember what had happened after I started to feel weak and cold . . .but I probably just fell asleep . . .The bag of ice that was resting on my red and swollen ankle numbed the pain and made it feel better. I was fortunate to fall down half of an extinct volcano with as much as a sprained ankle. I still felt like I was causing every trouble, though . . .

"Hey . . ." a voice came from above us, ripping me from my thoughts. I looked up and saw Tidus standing on the third floor, leaning over the railing and peering down at us. He was now wearing an unbuttoned light blue shirt with a white muscle shirt underneath, and another pair of khaki shorts. Yuna was looking up at him also, the T.V show she was watching previously not as vital as before.

"I'm goin' for a walk . . .wanna come?" he finished, coming down the stairs to where we were. Yuna stood from where she was sitting, desperately trying to hide her eager face. I can't go walking with them . . .and even if I could, I wouldn't because they should go alone . . .

Yuna hurried over to the door and slipped on her sandals. "I would love to!" she declared happily, waiting patiently by the door for her companion to join her. Tidus reached her, took her hand, and they exited the house without another word. I sighed quietly to myself with a smile in and now-silent house, watching their retreating figures turn and walk along the beach in the morning sunshine. I almost felt jealous in a way of their beautiful and fantasy-like relationship. How could something be so perfect without any flaws? Everybody has flaws . . .even angels . . .

  
Yuna's POV:

I blinked in the bright rays of light and trudged through the damp and soggy sand. The texture between my toes felt kind of strange, but I didn't stop to pick it away. Tidus had a comforting grip on my hand and was stepping nonchalantly through the dunes of sand. All around us, things seemed to springing to life and waking. Seagulls cried out from above us, circling around and around for any sorts of scraps from the storm last night to feast upon. Little crabs climbed out from their safe and dry tunnels under the sand, and bird chirped merrily from inside of the forest. The sun was now above the volcano and was still rising higher and higher as we walked along. The waves lapped the shore, tickling my toes with its' foamy surface and washing away the sand that had been clinging onto them dearly.

We walked without saying a word, with nothing but the waves to accompany our silence. Tidus suddenly stopped walking and stooped to pick up something off of the ground that I didn't have time to see what it was. He held out his hand to me and opened it to reveal a pretty spiral seashell. It was a light green colour with blue speckles all over it and it shined in the rising daylight. I didn't know what to do . . .why does he always make me lose my words!

"Here . . .for you,"

I hesitantly took the shell from the palm of his hand and looked up to meet his stunningly beautiful blue eyes. My heart started to pound and I felt my face turn a deep rouge. I averted my eyes to the ocean that was reflecting the sunlight, trying to find the right words to say. I had so many things running through my mind and I didn't know how to put it simple and not have it come out as a jumbled up pile of crap. I clutched onto the shell in my left hand, hoping it would somehow give me the answers I needed.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked me when I took my hand away from his involuntarily. His voice was pitched with worry and concern and I turned around to look at him. I tried not to make him think that there was something wrong—but there was something on my mind. I took a deep breath and prayed that it wouldn't come out wrong.

"There's something going on with Riku and Sora . . .they've been acting so strange lately. Do you think . . ." I trailed off, gulping down some excess spit that had built up in my throat. This wasn't going the way I had hoped it would. Tidus' eyes were shining with confusion and they seemed to beg for answers. I drew another long breath and finished my question.

"Do you think that it was a mistake to bring them both here?" I blurted out rather quickly. Noticing that I had said something strange, I blushed and looked down at the sand. It was true . . .ever since we came here; I felt like we were walking on thin ice before it broke and fell to pieces and those two would kill each other. I just wanted to bring Sora along because he's a friend to all of us . . .and I brought Riku along because him and Tidus are friends. I know it wasn't my fault that they hate each other, but I still felt like I was the one who caused all of this. I dug my toes into the damp sand and waited for his response. There was silence at first, where I could only hear his breath, the birds, and the waves.

"Those two are just confused about what they think of some other people . . .if you ask me, I think that Kairi is the reason for all of it—not that she's to be blamed or anything!" he added quickly, seeing my shocked expression. He grinned sheepishly, then looked serious once again.

"But . . .what can _one girl_ do?" I asked him quietly, thoroughly confused by his words. I have never thought that an actual person was the reason for their fighting . . .I thought it was a lot deeper than that . . .Tidus took my hand again and smiled back at me, his eyes sparkling in the light. For a moment, I thought that he didn't even know how to respond to my question, but after a while he took a deep breath and answered.

"You'd be surprised. With guys like _those_ two, throw a girl like Kairi in between them and they suddenly mature like crazy. The only problem, though, is that they both fall for the same girl and all hell breaks loose," he chuckled softly, obviously thinking that what he said was humourous. I didn't know whether to laugh or not. What he said was so new to me . . .it hadn't dawned on my before then that they both loved Kairi . . .but yet . . .it was so logical. Sora had always liked Kairi, but Riku never seemed to. In contrary, he always acted as if he could care less about her. He was so immature about a week ago . . .then . . .suddenly he changed. It was . . .strange . . .

"But don't worry," he assured me quickly, placing a warm hand on my cheek and staring deep in my eyes. His face was about four inches from mine and my face was burning in heat.

"True love will find its' way eventually . . ."

LATER (AT NIGHT)

  
Riku's POV:

I stood outside of the door that would later haunt me in my dreams, taking continuous deep breaths. Turning back now was an answer—but no, I had to get some answers. Why am I acting so afraid to talk to someone? When did _this_ side of me show up? I have tried and tried again to cover up what I really was thinking so many times before . . .but it wasn't working this time. I couldn't fake it . . .not anymore . . .

I turned the knob of the door and slowly pushed it open, hoping and hoping that nobody could hear me. The only thing I saw at first was darkness surrounding the entire room, but after a while, my eyes adjusted to the moonlight coming in through the window. The light was illuminating her bed and where she was (thankfully) sleeping soundly. I didn't want to move from where I stood, but I had to. My heart was pounding like crazy inside of my chest, telling me to turn around and go back upstairs to my room . . .but I couldn't leave now . . .I've made it this far . . .

I took a slow step and cringed when the floorboards underneath me creaked quite loudly. I glanced up at her, the breath caught in my throat, but she didn't move or acknowledge my existence. I let out that breath that I was holding and took more steps towards her bed until I was standing right over it. I slowly sat down on the edge of it, trying to not make so much movement. She still didn't wake . . .not even stir . . .

Look what you've done . . .you've made me go crazy over you in a matter of days . . .but what exactly did you do? Did you say something that just made me snap inside? Do words have an effect like that? Can they alter someone's personality, thoughts, and perspective? Can they do that? Can you tell me why you insist on confusing the shit out of me every time I even look at you? So . . .what now? What can I do now that will make this stop?

God, what the hell is wrong with me? It's not like it's the first time for me to be with you . . .and near you . . .Still . . .still, I feel so nervous. I'm shaking like crazy and I don't even know why. I can hardly breathe and here you are—breathing and dreaming like nothing in the world is wrong. I hate how you can be so innocent and oblivious. I hate how you can just smile and walk away when you leave me here, screaming at myself. I hate how you make me feel so guilty. You make me feel like I'm always doing something wrong, even though I'm not. You don't try it, I know, but it just happens. I can't really describe how it works . . .but . . .I just feel guilty. You did this to me. You went right ahead and poisoned my thoughts so that I only think about you . . .you put me into this trance and under your spell. And I was stupid and careless enough to fall for it. You're playing with my mind and just making me apologize for every little thing that I do and don't do. Do you know what you're doing to me? Do you even have a clue?

And yet . . .I still dream about you every night . . .and long for you to be near me. It's not a spell . . .it's a curse. It's a curse . . .but I like it. The way you smile . . .the way you laugh . . .it just captivates me . . .I can't stop thinking about you. You're always on my mind . . .and yet . . .it doesn't bother me too much. I like thinking about you . . .watching your every move . . .always listening for your voice and counting your breaths. I like the way you apologize for every little thing you do . . .even if it wasn't your fault . . .you still fall down in front of everybody and spill your heart out . . .

Now . . .now, you don't even realize it. You think I'm mad at you . . .and maybe I am . . .but I don't want you to think that. I want you to walk around with that goofy smile on your face like always and try to fix every damn problem around you. I want you to not know these thoughts running through my head . . .I want you to promise me these things . . .but not wake up. I'm sorry for everything. I know that I did all of it intentionally . . .but I never meant to shout at you . . .I never meant to let those feelings fly out of me and hurt you like they did. When . . .we were in that car, drunk out of our minds . . .I hope you realized that I only wanted to keep you as innocent as you are. I didn't want to hurt you . . .or make you feel like you did something wrong . . .I never want to do that . . .And . . .when I yelled at you at school the next day . . .I was just frustrated with myself about what I had done, and I exposed my inner feelings too quickly and in the wrong tone. Just . . .please forgive me. If you can, just forget about everything and maybe we can start off new again and not play this game anymore.

But you still don't realize it . . .

I stroked her soft, red locks gently, now knowing that she won't wake. The strong scent of some tropical fruit came from her hair and I smiled in a way that was so unnoticeable, only _I_ could know I was smiling. I slowly stood up from her bed and walked back across the room to the door. I turned back around only once to get one last glance at her before I left and then stepped through the doorway and closed it quietly.

  
Kairi's POV:

_I opened my eyes and saw that I was in some sort of blurry house that I couldn't tell who it belonged to. The front door was open and it was pouring down rain outside and completely dark. After a bit, the form of Riku started to materialize in front of my eyes. I couldn't make out much from his appearance, except that he was looking somber._

_"I have to go now," he whispered softly in a dark tone of voice. His eyes were as cold as ice, glinting in the meager light coming from car headlights on the driveway. I couldn't move or say a word to him . . .I was frozen in this place . . ._

_He turned around from where he was standing and walked away from the door and down the front steps. I reached out blindly to him, suddenly able to move but all I grabbed was air. Riku vanished into the rain and all around me were spinning colours. I found myself in a completely dark space of nothing with only black and more black surrounding myself._

I closed my eyes again and opened them to see the bedroom I was sleeping in now around me. My breath was coming in short and quick and I was covered in a cold sweat. I shook my head, sending my red hair flying in all directions and waited for my heart to slow down. I covered my face in my hands and smoothed them over my cold cheeks, trying to calm myself down. It was just a dream . . .but it seemed so real. I could see every breath he took in front of me, the way his eyes glowed in the headlights and the way he sounded when he spoke those words. It just seemed so real . . .

Panic suddenly seized my chest and I swung my legs around the side of my bed and ran to the door, my nightgown trailing behind me. I flung open the door, my feet moving without me telling them where to go. They led me to the stairs to the third floor and I clambered up the wooden steps frantically. I just had to check . . .that's all . . .I reached the top of the stairs and took a left to the rooms where the boys stayed in. I slowed down now and slowly opened one of the doors. In the dark room, I saw nothing but darkness. After my eyes had adjusted, I noticed a bag by my foot, which I recognized as Sora's. This wasn't the right room . . .

I closed the door to that room and moved to my left to the next door. I turned the knob and waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. When they did, I saw Riku's belongings scattered aimlessly about the room. The bed that was positioned in the far corner was completely empty, though. The panic that had died away slightly in my chest rose once again as I stared at the messed up sheets on the bed. I stepped over to the window across from the bed and blinked in the moonlight. From this window, I could see almost the entire beach from up above. Something strange caught the corner of my eye and I squinted in the bright light to see what exactly it was. It was a person . . .Riku . . .

  
Riku's POV:

I didn't notice at first, but after a couple of seconds I heard it again. It was the sound of footsteps coming towards me from behind. I didn't turn around . . .already knowing who it was. I must have waken her up when I tripped over her suitcase and fell against the wall . . .

"Why are you here?" I asked, rather coldly. I didn't want to sound rude . . .I was trying to be as nice as possible . . .but she just frustrated me so much. There was a little sound of panting as the footsteps came to a halt directly behind me. As silence wavered between us, I started to regret saying that to her. Why does everything I say come out wrong when I'm around her!

"I . . .thought you were leaving . . ." she whispered so quietly, I could barely hear her at all. Her gentle little voice was high-pitched in worry and sadness. I felt a strong feeling of pity towards her . . .but what was she talking about? I turned around to face her and saw that she had tears brimmed in her eyes. The sight of her tears took me aback slightly and I wanted to look away again, but stopped myself before doing so. Her eyes were averted to the sand and she fumbled with the ruffles of her lavender nightdress absentmindedly. I wanted to ask her why she thought I was leaving, but I suddenly blurted out to her what I had wanted to say to her for the longest time before I could stop myself.

"What you said back there earlier . . .about us being the best friends you could ever have . . ." I started off, my tone unlike my own. I was confusing myself by my words, but they just stumbled out of me. I shifted my eyes to the sand and I could feel her eyes now upon me. They were probably all big and shining with tears . . .I don't want her to cry . . .

" . . .I didn't want to believe it . . ." I mumbled under my breath slowly, not being able to control my thoughts. I felt her stare burn against me and I turned back around to face the ocean. The moon shone down upon us and gave everything a silvery glow, casting little light on the ocean's wavy surface. I breathed in the salty air and felt the blush on my cheeks grow even more. I can't let her see me like this . . .

"Ever since I knew you—hell, since I first met you, I've liked you . . .even though I may have acted like a complete jerk to you . . .it was only because you made me so nervous that the first thing I could think of doing was being obnoxious . . .and, well, during these past few days, I've been trying to act more nice to you . . .but as you can tell . . .it hasn't been working. I don't want you to hate me or think that _I _hate _you_ or anything . . .so, if I gave you that impression . . .it's not true . . .and . . .I never considered you 'a best friend' . . .never . . ." I muttered quietly, still not facing her. She didn't say a word after I broke off and the waves were the only thingsshattering the silence. Her silence started to annoy me . . .why wasn't she saying anything? What did I say wrong this time? Oh shit, she probably hates me now! Anger began to bubble up inside of me and I couldn't control myself anymore. I clenched my fists together and bit my lower lip in frustration.

"Well, why are you still here? I've said what I had to say so why aren't you leaving?" I shouted suddenly to her, letting that anger shoot out of me like bullets. When I only heard silence, I thought she had left, but there were no retreating footsteps sounding from behind me. I turned back around and saw that she was still standing there, fidgeting with her dress bottom, eyes still on the sand. I saw a shining tear fall from one of her eyes and land on the sand. Oh crap! Now I did it! I made her cry! I let myself go again and made her only hate me even more! She didn't say one word to me that would piss me off and now I explode at her and make her cry . . .I'm such an idiot . . .

"Because . . ."

She looked up from the sand and at me; tears rolling down her cheeks, making them shine in the moonlight. The sight of a small smile on her lips startled me and I stared at it in wonder. What could she be smiling about?

" . . .Because . . .I think I love you . . ." she whispered gently, that smile still noticeable on her rosy lips. Feeling the blush rise up on my cheeks yet again, I spun around, determined not to let her see it. She didn't just say that to me . . .it was my imagination . . .but . . .why can't I get that little phrase she just said out of my head? It kept echoing endlessly through my ears and made my heart pound like crazy. Why . . .was she saying that? Why . . .is it that even after all the things I say to her . . .she smiles and says . . ._that_?

Arms suddenly wrapped around my waist and I grew ridged. She hugged me tightly, pressing her face onto the back of my shirt. I remained where I was, afraid to move . . .

I didn't hear any sobs issuing from her . . .but I could feel them soak into my shirt. This is the girl who I treated like shit . . .this is the girl who I have loved for forever . . .and this is the same girl who is hugging me without a single word. And yet . . .this can't be her . . .

She released me gently and I heard her footsteps heading back up to the house. I didn't move . . .I didn't breathe . . .I _couldn't_ breathe . . .I was so confused about every little thing. The images of us being at my garage, in the car at the bar, and in the school hallway flashed through my mind and caught the breath in my chest. How could we have so many bad moments . . .and yet still forgive each other? How . . .is that possible?

_How . . .can she even like me?_

A/N: THERE YA GO! sigh I hope this one wasn't boring. I thought it to be rather interesting . . .I LOVE writing in Riku's POV . . .he's just got so many things on his mind because he doesn't talk much! Hottie . . .:ahem: Well, I hope y'all enjoyed this!

OOO! I forgot to mention! I got entered in this competition for KH fics and I have to send in the finished copy of this by July! Woo! I'm so excited (and yet so stressed out and nervous!) for this contest! Wish me luck!

Thanks you to all of my editors for the help on this chappie! (10! Holy crap!) Your guys rock my socks!

Updation soon!

K-c


	13. Pieces of a Painted Puzzle

Unforeseen Attraction  
By: K-c 

A/N: HERE I AM WITH CHAPPIE 13! Yay! I had to have my friends/editors help me come up with ideas for this once, cuz I cut what I was originally going to have. That's a very hard process to go through . . . ANYwho, so, thank you so much to those who reviewed! TOLD YA IT WAS GETTING GOOD, EH! Lol. Well, here ya go!

Disclaimer: I don't own KH characters of FF characters . . .but I DO own the Island of St. Anne and Emerald Sands Island (I hope that's not a real place . . .whoops . . .)!

Ch.13: Pieces of a Painted Puzzle

  
Kairi's POV:

"Aw, man! My battery's dead already?" I whined out loud, pressing the little button on my digital camera over and over again, hoping to suck some more life out of it. After a few moments of hope, I realized it was truly dead. I sighed in annoyance and put the string of the camera around my wrist.

"Hey, can I get out now?" Rikku called over to me from where she was lying completely buried in the sand so that only her blonde head was sticking out. I had been trying to take a picture of her in this situation, but my dumb camera wasn't being nice, so I couldn't. I smiled at her and turned around.

"Eh . . . nope! I'm gonna leave you there!" I giggled back at her, still not turning around. I heard a cry of protest and I started to laugh. I brushed a strand of red hair out of my eyes and gazed up at the beautiful blue sky overhead. It looks like it's going to be another lovely day . . . why can't we stay longer?

So here we are, still spending our much-deserved spring break on the island of Emerald Sands. Yuna was nice enough to allow us to all come along with her and stay in her beautiful summer home as well! Even though we've had our bad moments together, we still managed to pull through! My ankle still hurts, but it's definitely better now, which is a good thing! This is currently our last day on this island, and we'll be leaving here tomorrow morning to go back to school. So now I'm going to live my last day on the beach to the fullest!

"HEY, KAIRI! COME ON IN!" I turned around to face the water and saw Sora in up to his waist. I grinned out at him and dropped my camera on the soft, white sand. I slipped off my sandals and untied my beach skirt that was over top of my pink polka-dot swimsuit.

"Coming!" I called back to him and started to run towards the ocean. My feet hit the moist sand first and then the cool water. As I trudged through the deepening water, waves started to crash on me and knock me over. Everytime I looked up from falling down, Sora was laughing harder and harder. I gave him a playful pout and splashed some seawater in his face when I got close enough. The water went up to about the middle of my midriff and I quickly ducked down underneath to get my hair wet. I wiped the salt water away from my eyes when I came back up and looked for Sora. He wasn't standing where he was when I went under. Where is he?

"AHA!" I tried to turn around quickly, but I was suddenly shoved underwater. I could feel his hands on top of my hand, holding me down and I made an attempt to wriggle away, but to no avail. I reached out my hands and tried to grab onto something and I ended up grabbing his leg and I pulled it towards me. The pressure on my head ceased immediately, and I popped back up to the surface, gasping for breath. A moment later, Sora appeared too, now soaking wet. He glared at me, and for a second I thought that I had made him mad, but then he just laughed and splashed some water in my face.

"Hey!" I protested, slapping water at him in return. This went on for a while and then after about ten minutes, he laid back and started to float on the surface, rising and falling with the waves. I squeezed the excess water from my dripping hair and swam over to him. 'He's such a great friend,' I thought as I silently stared at him. He was looking up at the sky, a peaceful smile on his face.

After a pause of silence, he broke the calm. "That one looks like a boat . . ." he muttered under his breath to me, still staring up above him. I was slightly confused by what he said, but then I, too, looked up at the sky to see the clouds floating by. I craned my neck around to try and find the one that he said looked like a boat. I didn't see it.

"Where? I can't find it!" I told him, still looking around aimlessly in the bright blue sky. After a while, my neck started to hurt and I focused back on Sora who was now smiling wide.

"Here, float so you can see it from my angle," he suggested, indicating his head beside him. He was starting to drift away and I hurried over beside him again. I hesitantly turned around and flopped backwards onto the water. I tried to hold my breath to suspend me on the surface . . . but . . . that didn't quite work. I ended up sinking like a rock. (A/N: Don't worry, Kairi. I suck at floating, too . . .) When I came back up to the surface, Sora was laughing as well, but then he slowly started to sink down into the water and disappeared from sight. It was _my_ turn to laugh, now. I giggled like crazy when he broke through the surface, a very discouraged look on his face. He started to laugh along with me and we just ended up laughing together in the water, now pretty far from shore with our drifting with the current and all.

Our laughter died out and there was another moment of silence as we listened to the calling of the seagulls and the incessant waves pounding the shore. I looked in the distance at the shore and saw a silver-haired figure standing by the waters' edge.

"HEY! RIKU!" I hollered over to him, hoping he would hear me. I started to wave my arms in the air to catch his attention. I think he looked my way because I saw him signal me in. I glanced over at Sora, who was examining a hermit crab that he had snatched up from the sand underwater, and trudged back towards the shore to Riku. As I got closer, I noticed that he wasn't wearing a swimsuit and was holding a bag in his left hand. When I got through the "wave-zone" and onto damp sand, I then saw that he didn't look too happy. I stood right in front of him, waiting for him to give me an explanation for him wanting me to be there with him. I waited in silence while he didn't look me in the eyes, but had then averted to the sand.

"I just got a call from my father . . ." he started quietly, not looking at me still. I didn't know quite what to make of what he was telling me, but I didn't ask any questions. I waited for more to what he was saying and the deep intake of breath told me that it was going to be something hard to say.

"He says that I have to get home," he stated, his voice breaking in and out with anger. He spoke to me through clenched teeth and I didn't know if I should feel pity or concern. I peered up at his face and he closed his eyes, a small and faint blush appearing on his cheeks. Get home? What? Why now? Why couldn't he just leave tomorrow with the rest of us?

"Did . . .did something happen? Something bad? I mean—I don't meant to pry or anything, but if anything's wrong, you can tell me, you know . . ." I stammered uncertainly to him, trying to receive some sort of response from him. I sound like such an idiot . . .I shouldn't ask him about his private life . . . it might have something to do with his family, and that's personal. He doesn't need to tell me everything . . .

"It's . . .it's just . . . kinda personal . . ." he stumbled over his words quickly, obviously not wanting to tell me. I knew he was hiding something from me . . .

"So . . . you can't tell me?" I asked him softly, still looking up at him and hoping to meet his eyes. He looked at me, but it was with a glare. I was taken back by this sudden mood swing and backed up cautiously.

"I just don't wanna tell you, okay! Just . . .give me space . . ." he blurted out, but then quieted down again. I heard Sora trudging through the water behind me and approaching me slowly. He stopped and didn't say a word, not wanting to get involved in this. I didn't know what to say . . . I want so much to help him . . . I want him to confide in me and get things off his chest . . .

"Okay . . . I understand . . . when are you leaving?" I asked him in a quiet and shy tone. He looked away from me and spat on the sand, the irritation still visible on his face. I wish he wouldn't scowl so much . . . I don't think I've seen him truly smile before . . .It's like he's afraid to show his reapply feelings to me . . . but when we were on the beach that night a while ago . . . I saw a side of him I never knew before. He talked to me like I was his best friend . . . he didn't ignore me and he told me everything on his mind. For the past few days, though, he _has_ been acting rather distant towards me, while, on the other hand, Sora and I have become closer and he became one of my best friends! I sometimes sat and thought about what could be on his mind, but I never came up with a solid answer. All of the possible reasons just seemed too insignificant for me to retain and they just slipped out of my mind.

"Sora, do you mind leaving for a minute?" he asked coldly towards the person standing behind me. I didn't turn around and look at him, but by hearing the retreating footsteps, I knew he had left. After there was silence except for the waves, he dropped his bag on the sand and quickly grabbed me by the shoulders. This sudden movement caught me by surprise and I almost resisted his touch and grew rigid. He now looked me straight in the eyes, the anger no longer noticeable in his gaze. I stared back at him, not knowing what to do or say.

"I don't want to leave . . . I really don't . . . but I have no choice. It's something I can't control . . . so . . . I'm sorry about this . . ." he trailed off, staring me deep in the eyes. A faint blush rose up on his pale face once more and my face felt like it was burning as well. His grip on my shoulders wasn't strong, but it wasn't like I could pull away either. I felt frozen in the spot I was in . . . completely unable to move from him.

"You don't have to apologize, it's not your fault. It's not like I'll never see you again or anything!" I giggled nervously, hoping that he took that the way I had hoped he would. He suddenly let go of my shoulders and picked up his bag again without a word. I watched him in silence as he turned around and took about three steps away from me then stopped. He didn't face me as he said:

"Yea . . . I know . . ." and then he walked back up to the house and through the door. I remained where I was standing, unsure of what exactly I should do. I should've said something else . . . I should've made him feel better, but no—I just let that slip by me. There's something wrong, but he obviously doesn't want me prying into his life, so I can't ask him directly. I'm such an idiot! Why do I always think that I can solve everyone's problems? What makes me think that! Some things are just personal and aren't meant to be found out by others, and yet I always seem to find out! Why can't I just keep my concern to myself!

I breathed in the sweet salty air and let it rush out of my lungs. I smiled back at the ocean and marveled on how the sun reflected on the shiny and continuously moving surface, making it glow in the daylight. In the distance along the horizon, I saw a pod of dolphin leap out of the water and go splashing back under again in an arched movement. I turned back around and walked back up the sand to the summer home, stepping in Riku's footsteps.

  
Sora's POV:

I squinted in the darkness, looking for the bright blue towel Yuna had been telling me about. She was busy cooking something and asked me to go out on the beach to go look for her towel that she had left there by accident earlier today. I, of course, agreed to do so and here I was—looking in the pitch black for a towel I couldn't find. I sighed quietly to myself and shook my brown hair out of my eyes. My eyes grazed over the never-ending stretch of sand, still searching for the towel.

A faint blue glint caught my eye from the darkness and I hurried over to it. I picked up the blue towel and squinted at it, making sure it was her's. It had a pink cat on it . . .I think so . . .I draped the sandy towel on my shoulder and turned around to head back to the house. The chilly night air was returning like it did every night and it only made me walk faster and faster. My breath was short and I kept shivering and the house seemed like it was getting further and further away from me with each step. Eventually, the gleaming lights in the distance were right in front of me and I stepped up on the porch. When I noticed that it was completely dark inside, I started to worry. Weren't they all just in here a moment ago? Where'd they go? I pushed open the door and as soon as I did, the lights were flicked on and I was blinded by the change.

"SURPRISE!" A loud roar of noise issued from the room. After my eyes had adjusted to the bright lights, I saw everyone standing either behind couches or tables with party-hats on and throwing confetti. I smiled around at all of my friends, happy that they had remembered that it was my birthday today. Yuna ran up to me from behind the white leather couch and gave me a tight hug and threw some confetti into my hair. After she had released me, another person squeezed me to death. Kairi ruffled up my hair with her fingers and giggled at me after letting go. I laughed at this greeting and walked over to the table in the corner.

"Can we break out the drinks, yet?" Wakka called out from inside of the kitchen, standing beside the refrigerator eagerly. Yuna sighed a heavy sigh and told him not yet and not after the presents. Wakka frowned, but joined the rest of the group surrounding me, shoving various presents into my face. I slowly took one that was lying on the table with no owner holding it out to me and pulled the wrapping paper off. It was a CD of my favourite band "Crossfade" and I smiled. I looked around the room to see who had gotten it for me, but it was pretty obvious who did. Only one person knew which bands I liked, and that was Riku . . .but he was MIA. Before I could bathe in the glory of my CD, another present was thrust into my face.

"OPEN MINE NEXT!" An overly excited Rikku screamed shrilly in my ear. I took the oblong parcel from her hands and unwrapped it. When it was uncovered, I saw that it was a skateboard . . .a really nice one. It was a beautiful shade of dark green with the word: "REVENGE" painted in red letters on the bottom of it. I stared down at it with adoration and thanked her a million times. (A/N: IT LOOKS LIKE MY SKATEBOARD! I love skateboarding . . .ok . . .I'm done . . .)

"You can open mine next, if you want . . ." a quiet voice said above all of the shouting in the room. I looked up to see a small rectangular package wrapped in light blue wrapping paper being held in the hands of Kairi. I smiled at her and took the present from her. My hands hesitated over the parcel for a moment or two, and then I slowly unwrapped it, excitement seizing my body. What lay in front of me when I was done was a picture frame with seashells around the edges of it and a picture of her and I on the beach. It was a picture that captured me sitting on the dock and her leaning over me with her arm around my shoulder, giving the peace sign with her fingers. We were smiling in the sunshine and I held the frame close to me.

"I made it myself . . .do you like it?" she asked me meekly, obviously nervous about what my reaction would be. I turned to face her, still holding the picture frame in my hands and looked her in the eyes. I leaned forward, staring her deep in the eyes that were shining with admiration.

"Yea . . .I do . . ." I told her quietly, still inching closer and closer to her face. I was about seven inches from her face when I was suddenly embraced tightly. I snapped out of my daydream and realized that she was hugging me tightly. My heart dropped so quickly, I felt like it was going to drop to the floor. I hugged her loosely; still downtrodden by what had just happened. Why . . .does everything go wrong?

And so the present-giving ceremony continued until the table was cleared for cake. The cake was the appropriate size for eight people and was chocolate (by request from Selphie) and was quickly consumed. Then, Wakka and Selphie broke out the drinks. Tidus popped a CD into the stereo against the wall and blasted it at full volume. Soon, everyone was out in the living room floor dancing in the space that was once taken up by the couches that we moved against the far wall. Selphie, Rikku and Wakka were drunk in a matter of minutes and were grinding in the middle of the floor. Yuna even got a dirty side to her and started to dance with Tidus. Riku didn't show up the entire party, but it seemed that nobody even rested on the thought of his absence for more than a minute. Even Kairi was having a good time while not thinking about him. I didn't really go out and dance, but watched everyone else as they went, laughing at my drunken friends and counting how many times Rikku fell down.

The party was going great as the night went on and seemed like it was never going to wind down. The "Three Idiots" (I called them) had about ten drinks in them and were as crazy as ever. Rikku started to get an adventurous side to her and kept floating over to where Tidus and Yuna were talking, trying to hook up with him. Yuna, however, told her off everytime she came over and it was quite amusing. Sometime after about three hours, Wakka fell to the floor unconscious. We moved him out of the way . . .(A/N: HAHA!)

  
Kairi's POV:

I sighed and threw myself down on the couch against the wall, tired out already from this ongoing party for Sora. It was so great throwing him a party like this . . .he really did seem to appreciate it . . .and the gift I gave him. I spent so much work on that frame, hoping he would like it and he did! I smiled to myself and watched everyone else around me dance and have a great time. I ran a hand through my red hair and fanned myself with my hand to cool down. Sweat was running down my face from all of the dancing I had been doing and my legs hurt like hell. I spotted Sora leaning up against the wall, laughing at Selphie as she tripped over the leg of a couch and landed smack on the floor. He was so happy . . .but he wasn't dancing or anything. Many times, I was tempted to talk to him or even ask him to dance when the slow songs played, but I restrained myself.

The fast-paced song quickly changed to a slow-dancing song and the coupled immediately paired up. Since Wakka was passed out, Rikku and Selphie danced around in a swaying matter and Tidus and Yuna dancing by the window. I felt someone's eyes on me and I looked over at Sora who was staring at me. When he saw my gaze, he looked away quickly, a large blush forming on his face. I walked over to him and stood in front of him, waiting for him to talk to me. After a while, he finally looked at me and stammered out a "Will you dance with me?" I nodded my head and took his hand and lead him out to the floor.

I placed my arms around his neck and he put his on my waist. He wouldn't look at me for the first couple of minutes and tried to keep his attention on some things around him. I looked up at him, smiling. His eyes slowly moved back on me and our eyes met and locked. There was an awkward moment between us as we just stared at each other, but then I suddenly started to get a pain in my chest. I ignored it, but then it came back, stronger than ever. I released my arms from him and placed a hand on my chest. My head started to spin and I felt dizzy. I coughed slightly and bent over. Sora grabbed me, making sure I wasn't going to fall. What's happening to me?

"Are you okay?" he asked me, concern rising in his voice as he held me there. I nodded my head, not taking my eyes off of the floor.

"Yea . . .I'm fine . . .I just need to go lie down for a bit . . .sorry . . ." I mumbled under my breath, not really paying attention if he could hear me or not. I walked away from him and made my way past Rikku and Selphie to the stairs. I climbed the steps slowly and carefully, clinging onto the railing tightly. I reached the second floor and turned the corner to where my room was. My head collided with something hard and I was pushed backwards. The impact made my head throb and I grumbled as I looked up to see what it was I had bumped into. I saw Riku standing before me, a hand placed over his stomach where I guess I had hit him . . .(A/N: RIKU HAS ABS! HOHO!) He was holding a small bag in his right hand and looked at me sadly.

"I'm sorry . . .I just didn't look where I was going and I guess I just bumped into you because I have a headache and I just want to go—"

"I have to go now," he stated, interrupting my nervous rambling. I held my tongue and tried to read his expression. He was leaving . . .he was really leaving now . . .I hadn't thought about him all evening . . .and here he was . . .leaving me . . .Panic seized my chest and I took a step towards him. I wanted so much to hug him or something . . .But I also wanted to talk to him . . .

"Why now? Why can't you just leave tomorrow morning? Can't you just—"

"No. I'm sorry . . .I can't . . ."

"B-but . . ."

"Just let me go. I don't wanna have to explain everything to you. Let's just leave it at this."

The tears welled up in my eyes, but I refused to cry in front of him. He was right . . .he should just leave . . .if we sit here and talk about it . . .it'll only make me miss him even more. I bit my lower lip in an attempt to hold back my emotions, but I just wanted to hold him. He looked away from me and to the floor, the hold on his bag handle tightening, making his knuckles turn white.

"I'll . . .I'll miss you . . ." I whispered quietly to him, now knowing that he wasn't going to say anymore. I looked down at my feet and shuffled them on the carpet. A long and dragged-out moment of silence passed between us and the only sound that accompanied this awkwardness was the slow, sad song playing below us.

"Yea . . ." he muttered under his breath and started to walk past me. I quickly reached out and grabbed his shirtsleeve as he passed by me involuntarily. He yanked his arm away from me and spun around to face me.

"Will you just leave me alone! I have to get outta here, and you're only making it worse by holding me back!" he shouted at me rather loudly. I'm glad that the music below us had now changed back to a loud and booming song so no one could hear his shouting. A few of the tears in my eyes spilled out and ran down my cheeks as I looked at his irritated face. His words were true . . .but I just didn't want to let him go . . .

"Ok . . .I understand . . .you just want to be alone . . ." I whispered quietly, but I bet he couldn't hear it over the music. If he wants to be alone . . .i'll let him be that way. I can't force him to stay . . .it's obviously a personal matter that he doesn't want to discuss . . .

Riku turned back around and headed down the stairs without another backward glance. I stood where I was, clutching my hand to my chest that started to hurt again. I was left alone in the darkness of the hallway, crying silent tears. Part of me wanted to go and follow him and see him get on the plane . . .but I also couldn't bear to see him fly away from me. I took one step that was followed by another and I walked over to my bedroom. I opened the door and closed it behind me and entered the darkness of my room. I slowly walked over to my bed and laid down on it without changing or going under the covers. I lay on my back for a while, staring at the blank ceiling above me and soon, my eyelids became heavy and I fell asleep.

_I blinked once and then again, trying to see anything in the void of darkness I was surrounded in. There was no difference between my closed eyelids and the world around me. I opened my mouth to scream or even call out to anyone, but there was no sound. Somebody please find me . . .I can't get back home . . .I can't find my way . . .Someone . . .anyone . . .please . . ._

_I fell to my knees and started to sob into my arms in the darkness. The tears were streaming down my face like waterfalls, but my sobs were muted. I felt like a little child, lost and cold in a world she can't remember. Fear gripped my insides and made them squirm inside of my uncomfortably. Then, just then, I felt something warm touch my shoulder and I looked up. I saw Sora standing above me, looking down at me with an unreadable expression on his face. In his other hand down by his side, he held the picture frame tightly. The photograph of us together seemed blurred and hazy, like an unfocused pair of binoculars. He reached his hand out to me and helped me to my feet. Once I was standing in front of him, we looked at each other in the eyes. _

_I opened my mouth to speak again, but I knew it was useless. His deep blue eyes burned into mine and I wanted to look away . . .but I couldn't. It felt like every muscle in my body was frozen and dead—cold and lifeless. He reached that same hand out to me again and this time, he rested it lightly on my cheek. I looked from his hand to his eyes nervously, unsure of what to do and what was happening. He gently stroked my cheek with his thumb and I held my breath. What's going on? What should I do?_

_The other hand that was holding the picture frame quickly dropped it and he grabbed my shoulder. The frame hit the ground and shattered into a million pieces, the picture inside of it now completely dark. I stared at the frame on the floor beneath us for a moment, confusion running through my mind. The grip on my shoulder tightened and I winced slightly in pain. His eyes were still fixed on mine and I couldn't breathe. He was leaning closer and closer to me until his warm breath was on my face and we were not more than seven inches away. My eyelids started to close automatically without my permission as he neared my lips. They slowly and gently touched mine in a slow-motion process. _

_Then . . .as quickly as it had happened . . .it was gone. Everything was gone. The shattered frame on the ground disappeared and then so did Sora right in front of me. I was now left with only the darkened photograph lying on the floor—deserted and lonely. I bent down to pick it up, but as soon as I touched it, it burst into flames and I dropped it back on the floor. When I looked back down, it was gone and I felt myself slowly falling down. I reached for something to grab, but I only received air—just air. _

I sat back up in my bed with jolt from my dream. A cold sweat covered my body and my breath came in short and quick pants. I blinked in the moonlight on my face and slowly felt my heart return to its' normal pace. I looked out the window to the shore and only saw the dawn starting to rise on the horizon. The darkness was slowly fading and the colourful clouds were rising higher and higher in the sky.

A dream . . .a hallucination . . .just a dream . . .

A/N: Wow . . .That was a pretty weird chappie, eh? I hope you guys liked it and sorry it was a little shorter compared to my other ones. Sorry it also took me such a long time to update cuz i'm currently working on my first Full Metal Alchemist fic! Yay! So . . .look for that one eventually. Thank you for reading this and please review!

Review please!

K-c


	14. A Night to Remember, A Night to Forget

Unforeseen Attraction

By: K-c

A/N: I'M SO SORRY THAT TOOK FOREVER TO UPDATE! I WAS HAVING MAJOR WRITER'S BLOCK AND WAS DISTRACTED BY "WRITTEN IN BLOOD"! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! DON'T HATE ME! Well, here ya go!

Disclaimer: I STILL don't own any of the characters in this fic . . .just the places. Haha!

Ch. 14: A Night to Remember, A Night to Forget

Kairi's POV:

"Well . . .I don't feel like teaching because I'm obviously just as eager as all of you to get the hell outta this place . . .so . . .do whatever you want . . ." Miss Lulu addressed the class from behind her desk sleepily, and put her head back down in her arms to sleep. A roar of noise erupted from the classroom as everybody stood from their seats and immediately moved around until they were all with their friends. A loud buzzing of chatter and excited squeals echoed around the room as we all stared anxiously at the clock, waiting for the last bell of the day to sound and we would get dismissed.

The anxiety in Saint Anne High always grew to an extreme on the day of the Spring Carnival. The day seems to drag on for forever and even though we keep staring at the clocks, we hope it goes by faster. The Spring Carnival is always held on the day we all get back from Spring Break and it's kind of a way of saying: "Welcome back to prison, but have a little fun to tire you out for learning tomorrow, okay?". During the Spring Carnival, all of the students here get dismissed early from their last class to march down to the huge open field around back where we're always greeted by a ferris wheel, games, other sorts of rides and a very tired-out Carnival Committee. So here we are, staring at the clock during 9th period, waiting for the bell.

Somebody tugged on the short-sleeve of my uniform (which is now changed to our summer uniforms) and I turned to see an overly excited Rikku leaning over me with a crazy grin on her face. I smiled meekly in return and opened my mouth to speak, but I was interrupted by a loud screech that issued from her mouth as she jumped into the air.

"PAAAARRRTTTAAAAYYYYY! WE'RE GONNA HAVE SO MUCH FUN AND EAT A LOT AND RIDE A LOT AND PLAY A LOT AND DANCE A LOT AND—"

"HEY! SHUDDAP OVER THERE! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP, GOD DAMMIT!" Miss Lulu hollered over from her desk at Rikku. Rikku stared at her half-awake self and then back at me. Miss Lulu put her head back down on her desk. Her bright green eyes were shining with excitement as he gazed at me. I laughed uneasily and tried to look understanding in a way.

"Yea, yea, Rikku. It's gonna be great . . .I bet—"

_Ding Ding Ding_

And I didn't see her for another second. The class began to shove their 30-body mass through the 3x6 door into the hallway as the rest of the school on all floors leaped to their feet and sprinted to the nearest exit. Miss Lulu jumped to her feet when she had heard the bell and started to climb over the mob of students to get out, cussing everyone off in the process. I timidly made my way to the door, but did not join in the mass, even though I was just as excited as anyone.

The next thing I knew, I was out of the chemistry room and being shoved by many people behind me down the stairs. I almost tripped and fell to the floor, but caught myself, still trying to somehow get out of this place. A breath of fresh air greeted my face but was quickly taken away from me as somebody behind me pushed me so hard, that I fell forwards into the back of someone. I looked up from the white cotton shirt and saw Sora turning around to face me. He smiled at my situation and steadied me to my feet. I blushed furiously from embarrassment and the remembrance of my hauntingly strange dream from two nights ago. Before we could have a moment or two somewhat alone, somebody else came crashing into me. When I opened my eyes, Selphie was sprawled out across me and I was lying on the ground. She looked quite unconscious.

"Un . . .sorry about that . . .lost my balance . . ." she muttered under her breath while slowly getting away from me. I stood to my feet and brushed off my shorter skirt and turned to face her. I gave her the evilest glare I could muster, waited for her reaction, then started to smile and laugh.

"C'mon! Let's go!" I called happily to both of them and started in a run to the fair ahead of us. I heard their laughs and footsteps following me as I ran to the ticket booth with the warm spring air whipping through my dark red hair.

* * *

Sora's POV:

"This line is taking forever . . ." I muttered under my breath impatiently, after waiting about 20 minutes to get on the ride. It was the line for the ferris wheel and, as ferris wheels are, it takes the longest time in the world for everybody to load on and get off. I gazed up at the contraption and watched as it slowly moved down. Kairi, who was standing beside me, smiled cheerfully up at it even though her annoyance and impatience was pretty obvious. She was really good at fooling people with that beautiful smile of her's.

"Next!" The attendant shouted over at me and reached out his hand to receive my ticket. I handed it to him and he snatched it from my hand, taking Kairi's too. He then pulled open the door to a cart and shoved us in. _Someone's pissed . . ._Before I knew it; we were flying up in the air as it moved to have someone else load on.

After a lot of stopping and going, we finally started to move at a steady pace, the scene of the fair disappearing and reappearing from our sight. The view from the top was gorgeous and I sighed as we passed by it over and over again. Kairi and I talked about nothing really important—just little things we saw below and our upcoming projects in school. Being right beside her and breathing the same air she was felt great. I couldn't take my eyes off of her and that smile! She would giggle at some things I would say to make me receive another glimpse of those sparkling pearls. The warm night air blew against my face and I started to get hot from sitting next to the girl of my dreams and the temperature. I looked away nervously every now and then, not finding the words to say, but she would always strike up another conversation almost immediately. _She must really like me . . ._

We were on the ride for about seven minutes or so when it suddenly came to a screeching halt. I was flung forwards into the bar and I held out my arm in front of Kairi so she wouldn't hurt herself like I did. Our chair rocked back and forth in the wind and ceased movement as I clung onto the sides. I peered over the edge and saw that other people were curiously looking down to see what had caused the stop. The attendant was looking at a pile of wires and shouting at the people who were complaining. We had to have been stopped at the worst possible place on the ride, too. We were right at the very top, swaying dangerously in the sweet breeze that smelled of funnel cakes. I heard a quiet laugh from beside me and turned to see Kairi giggling softly to herself. Her laughter steadily grew to a shriek of giggles and she clutched her sides, doubling over. I chuckled softly, wondering why the hell she was laughing like this.

"What's so funny?" I asked her in between my own laughs. She merely giggled some more and squeezed her eyes shut in all of her hilarity. As I looked around me, I saw that the other people were glancing over at Kairi, strange looks on their faces.

"It's just so funny! I mean, here we are—" she laughed some more. "stuck on a ferris wheel! It's the strangest thing! I never thought it would happen to me! And—and—I'm afraid of heights! This is the worst thing ever!" she doubled over in a fit of laughter again. After she had pointed this out to me, the whole ordeal seemed rather amusing as well. I started to laugh again, but this time with her, not at her. She was right—could it get any worse?

"We're gonna be stuck here for hours!"

"I know, I know!"

We laughed like crazy, both of us holding our sides. After quite a few minutes, our giggles died and I looked back at her to see her wipe a few tears from her eyes and a smile still on her face. My heart started to pound immediately at the thought of asking her the thing that was on my mind. _I can't . . .it's so hard . . .but I have to . . ._

"Hey . . .Kairi . . ." I started, leaning over to her like I did at the beach house during my birthday party. She didn't seem to back away from me, which was a very good sign and my confidence began to build as I inched closer and closer to her. She stared at me, and I thought I saw her eyes flicker shut, but I shut mine before I could see anymore. I was about three inches away from her face when I was suddenly pushed down into the seat. Kairi leaned over me, looking at something on my side on the ground, pushing me into the seat in between us.

"HEY! RIKU! HI, RIKU!" She screamed cheerfully towards the ground, waving her arm frantically. I sat up and peeked over the edge at what she was seeing and, believe it or not, there was Riku standing on the grass and staring up at us with huge eyes. _So he's back . . .great timing . . ._He started to shout things that we couldn't hear and began jumping up and down in sudden panic. It was quite amusing watching him . . .it was like a silent movie.

"WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Kairi giggled, still waving at the teen below. Just as she said that, the ride started to move again and we headed down to the ground with cheers of happiness issuing from the other passengers. I merely sighed and slumped in my seat—my plan ruined.

When we got off of the ride she ran over to Riku and hugged him tightly around the waist. Riku looked taken back by her actions, but gave a brief hug in return. I stood in the background, jealousy seething inside of me for everything. Nobody seemed to notice how I was wringing my hands with each pulse of fury and nobody seemed to notice how I glared at the two of them with pure hatred shining in my eyes. Nobody notices me . . .especially when ALL HOLY RIKU is here . . .I'm nothing in her eyes anymore when he's around.

"Look, Sora, Riku's back!" she called over to me happily, pointing to the tall guy behind her. I gave a strained smile and a quick little flick of my hand in a wave but then turned my direction over to Yuna and Tidus who were sitting on a bench eating cotton candy. Yuna giggled uncontrollably when a rather large piece of pink fluff got stuck on Tidus' nose when he tried to bite off some. I smiled softly over at them and they waved me over. I glanced quickly at Kairi and Riku to see if they were going to protest, but they were too immersed in a conversation so I jogged over to the two of them, happy to get away from those two.

"Oh, hey, Sora! What's up?" Yuna asked me cheerfully through her fits of giggles. I watched Tidus pull off some of the cotton candy that had somehow reached his hair and became even more of a sticky mess. I sighed and shoved my hands in my pockets, staring at the dirt underneath my feet. I kicked up some dust, which covered my shoe, and I frowned down at it.

"Nothing, I guess . . ." I replied, still looking at the ground. I knew that my answer wasn't very convincing of meaning 'nothing' and that Yuna would start to act all "motherly" and the wave of questions would soon drown me. I held baited breath in preparation for this, but it didn't come because the next thing I knew, I heard my name being called. I spun around to see Kairi waving me over, Riku not beside her anymore. Now seeing that she was alone, I took the opportunity and ran over to her, disregarding Tidus and Yuna for the moment. Kairi gave me another one of her gorgeous smiles and I felt my heart flip inside of my chest. I couldn't help but to grin back at her . . .even if I did look like an idiot.

"I'm gonna go now . . .so . . .thanks for the fun time! You were really great. Well . . .see ya!" she called to me as she turned around and started to head in the direction of the path towards her house. Seeing her leave like this made me suddenly panic. I reached out my hand to grab her shoulder, but she was already out of my reach.

"Wait, Kairi!"

She turned around, a cute smile on her face. Now that her eyes were on me, I lost all of my words that I was going to say and I was left in the void of emptiness. I could start to feel my face burn bright red from being on the spot like this, and the collar on my shirt suddenly felt too tight. I managed to look her in the eyes and smile weakly.

"Can I walk you home?"

* * *

Riku's POV:

Knocking wasn't a necessity for entering my house. I pushed open the front door to the dark entrance hall and stepped inside, throwing my coat onto the bench near the door carelessly. I didn't hear a sound as I marched right up the stairs, not bothering to tell anybody in this house that I was back from the fair. Nobody cared and that didn't phase me at all. The whole house was completely dark and made you feel like nobody had lived here for years, but somebody was here—the two people I hate the most in my life.

I shoved open my bedroom door and walked over to my bed, not taking the time to take off my shoes or anything and flopped down on my bed. I didn't turn on the lights, because it would feel too out of place in this silent, dark house. I stared up at the ceiling, trying to memorize every single line and crack that my eyes fell upon.

Before I knew it, my eyes were closed and I had finally grasped a few hours of sleep. I don't have any dreams . . .just whirls of colours that satisfied my longing of sleep. Everytime that I tried to focus on one object, it just melted into another and the continuous pattern never ended. A couple of times, I had to open my eyes to remind myself that I was really back at my house and sleeping in my own bed without any incident occurring.

_"I'M SO SICK OF YOU!"_

_"THEN LEAVE!"_

I sat up in my bed, hearing the all-too-familiar sounds of my parents' voices echoing in the house below me. It wasn't unusual for me to hear these sorts of things . . .I was starting to get used to it. Soon, glass will start to break . . .

_Crash!_

_"I'M GONNA LEAVE YOU! _

_"WHO'S STOPPING YOU? GO! GET OUTTA HERE!"_

_"DON'T TOUCH ME!"_

_Smack!_

_"YOU'RE THE STUPID WHORE WHO GOES OUT EVERY NIGHT TO HAVE HER MEN, SO DON'T BLAME THIS ON ME!"_

_"I'M OUTTA HERE! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"_

_"FINE! GO THEN! I WON'T MISS YOU, BITCH!"_

_"YOU FUCKIN BASTARD!"_

The front door slammed so hard that I could feel the vibrations up through the walls and into my bedroom where I sat on my bed, listening to the war downstairs. I knew their arguments all too well and this wasn't a new one that they have had. This is what caused me to leave from my spring break . . .these fags ruin everything. I can't have a full night's sleep without them constantly waking me up with their screaming in the early morning. I'm surprised the neighbors haven't moved away by now. So many times my mother threatened to leave us, but she hasn't yet. I know that one of these days, though, she will stick to her word and pack her bags. I'll have no regrets. I would be better off without either of them if I had the choice. If I was old enough, I would leave this house in a heartbeat and live on my own like so many other High School dropouts I've met on the streets, but I haven't packed a single thing whenever these thoughts invaded.

_It's nothing new at all . . ._

* * *

Sora's POV:

The tension that ran in between Kairi and I was so high, I could almost feel the invisible electricity prickle my skin and cause the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. Kairi didn't seem to notice as she walked happily beside me, a bounce of happiness in her step and a smile on her face. The bright blush that was still lingering on my face wasn't quite noticeable in the darkness and I started blessing the black around me for hiding it from her eyes. The air was thick in heat from the scorching summer day and I kept tugging at the collar of my shirt constantly, both from nerves and the heat radiating from the still warm dirt underneath our feet. We trekked up the path that led to her house high up on the cliff without saying a single word to each other, causing the awkwardness of the situation to intensify. _Say something!_

Before I knew it, we were standing on the front step to her house that was dark from her mother not being home from work yet. We stood facing each other and averting our eyes from gazing into each other's. Ever since the ferris wheel incident, I've been wanting to lay my lips right on hers, but she always seemed to be looking the other way or searching for somebody in the crowd of kids. It was almost like she was afraid somebody would see us together. Her awkwardness towards me only led me to feel defeated towards her as well. It was like an endless cycle.

Her clear blue eyes finally found mine at the exact same time I happened to looking into her face and our eyes locked. The electrical current between us grew once more as we stared at each other. She seemed embarrassed and looked away almost immediately, her eyes focusing on her shoes that she scuffed nervously on the cement stoop.

"Well . . ." she started uncertainly, not finding the right words to say. I cleared my throat nervously, trying to somehow break the silence that lay in between us. I grinned briefly at her and hoped that that would settle our nerves, but it only seemed to increase them.

"I guess this is goodnight, right?" I asked stupidly. _Well of course it is! I'm such an idiot!_ Kairi nodded her head slightly and rested her hand on the metal doorknob to her front door as if telling me it was my time to leave. I took that as a sign and started to turn to leave when she quickly grabbed my shoulder, preventing me from turning away. I turned back slowly, trying to not look as eager and happy as I felt on the inside. Her eyes once again fell to the ground our eyes locked for the briefest of seconds and a small blush formed on her cheeks.

"Umm . . .I had a really great time tonight . . .thanks for hanging with me . . ." she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. My face lit up again with another blush as she said these words. I smiled lightly to myself and congratulated myself on the inside.

"Yea . . .I had an awesome time, too. We should hang out again sometime . . ." I offered gently, trying to hide the excitement in my voice. I took a deep breath as I waited for her response to my suggestion for a possible second "date". Kairi didn't seem to acknowledge my casual offer and slowly let her hand that had still been resting on my shoulder the entire time, drop to her side.

"I . . .don't know if that's such a great idea . . ." she whispered now, the sadness sagging in her little voice. I felt my heart drop from my chest and the smile immediately vanished from my face at her words. All of the hope in my mind was taken away in a matter of seconds and I was left hopeless and feeling very stupid. _What . . .did I do wrong?_

She glanced back up into my eyes and I saw tears shining in them before she blinked them away. I knew she could see the defeated look in my own eyes and I tried with all my might to cover it up by all means, but it was useless. I was sad as hell. Desperately wanting to win her back somehow, I thought of another excuse to make her stay and it spilled out of me before I could hold my tongue.

"But can we go to the Spring Fling together at least?" I blurted out, the desperation very noticeable in my voice pitched with panic. The Spring Fling was a dance that only third and fourth year students were allowed to go to. The guys had to ask the girls and so far, almost everyone I knew had a date except for me and Riku. The event was being held in three days and I've been trying to ask Kairi for two weeks now and this was my last chance to get her.

She looked back up at me and I could tell by her eyes that her answer was a resolute "no". I didn't want to accept it and I was willing to try anything to make her go with me. _Why is she acting like this? Was it something I said? Is she seeing someone else? _Questions popped into my mind as I stood on her front step, refusing to back down and walk away without a trace of hope and happiness in my heart. I looked reluctantly to the cement step and clenched my fists in sudden fury.

"I'm sorry, Sora . . .but I just want to be friends with you. Don't take it the—"

"BUT WHY CAN'T WE GO JUST AS FRIENDS!" I shouted suddenly, letting all of my sorrow and fury to come flying out of me. Kairi gasped out quietly in surprise to my reaction, but I didn't want to look her in the eyes. I didn't want to see the hurt shining in her light blue eyes.

"Because I don't like you like that!" she yelled in response, taking me completely off guard. I had expected her reaction to be sorrow, but in return, she seemed to be just as furious as I was. Her words hit me like knives that stabbed into me a million and one times, piercing my already wounded heart.

"I don't care. I love you . . .I won't lose you!" I didn't want to hear her anymore. I took four steps backwards and spun around in a run from her house, not daring to look back. When I was far up the path and out of her sight, I stopped and turned to face her house. I saw her standing on her stoop, staring at her hands silently. Then, she turned and entered her house.

I continued at a slow walk to my house, wringing my hands into fists, trying to get rid of some of the anger I held inside of me. My heart felt like it was ripped apart and I just wanted to kill something and anything. I had almost walked right by my house in all of my anger, but turned and walked up to the door. I yanked open the door forcefully and slammed it behind me.

_Yea . . .I guess that's the way it is . . ._

QUICK A/N: Ok, that chappie really really wasn't that wonderful, I know! That's because that was a filler for what's coming up next! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! STAY TUNED!

K-c


	15. His Reason

Unforeseen Attraction  
By: K-c 

A/N: YES! I'm actually getting this story done! I've been slacking off lately, I know, but I'M BACK! I'm also sorry to say, but my story is drawing to a close and that this is the second to last chappie in this story. No, I will not be writing a sequel to this one, sorry. NOW, just to warn y'all, this story has an EXTREMELY UNFORESEEN ENDING! So, sit back, relax and enjoy! Here ya go!

Ch.15: His Reason

_"Forgetting you is so easy, but erasing the memories is my difficulty. . ."_

Kairi's POV:

I didn't want to wake up. But I did.

I didn't want to look at myself in the mirror. But I did.

I didn't want to go to school. But I did.

And here I am.

Probably the hardest thing a girl has to go through while growing up is learning how to say 'no' to a boy. It could be a friend or a guy you really like, but know it would never work with. It's a very tense moment when a guy asks you to do something. Your mind is screaming at you to say 'yes' and go with the flow, but that little, nagging, motherly voice in the far regions of your mind whispers 'no', and you always seem to listen to it—no matter what. Seeing the hurt look on their faces is no laughing matter, either. The look in their eyes will haunt you to the day you lie six feet in dirt. Sure, you may try to erase your mind, start over new every day and act as if nothing happened at all, but everytime you see that boy, your heart will pang a little for him. Why do we do the crazy things we do? Good question. I don't even know. And I don't think we'll ever find out.

"HELLO, THERE!"

I jumped about three feet in the air out of my desk and almost smacked my forehead as my hands shot into the air as well. My heart fluttered as I glanced around the classroom and saw the sniggering faces of my classmates and the exasperated glare of my geometry teacher. Mr. Monis narrowed his eyes at me as he tapped his fingers on my desk impatiently, not moving his eyes from mine. My face started to heat up.

"Day dreaming _again_? This is the third time this month!" he pointed out with annoyance, still giving me that hard glare. I grinned sheepishly and slid down in my chair, my cheeks positively glowing from humiliation. I muttered a subtle apology, desperately trying to get him away from me so I could breathe. His eyes lingered for a little bit longer until he turned and continued walking down the aisle of desks I was sitting in, lecturing us about something that had to do with ratios. I tried to listen up so I wouldn't be completely clueless on my homework that night, but I found myself tuning out and thinking about what had happened on the previous night.

It took the four rings of the class dismissal bell to bring me out of my trance and I jumped from my seat, swinging my bag over my shoulder in the process. I joined the throng of students sauntering from the classroom into the hall until somebody grabbed my arm and whipped me around. A very worried face of Rikku greeted me.

"Do you know where Riku is today?" she asked me so softly, I could barely hear her. I leaned in closer to her to pick up on the rest. I paused. _Where was Riku today? I haven't seen him yet. _

"Oh, he probably came in late today and we haven't seen him or he just ditched, like always." I told her casually, turning back around to exit the classroom. Rikku seized my arm once more and I spun around again, slightly exasperated. Her bright green eyes started to shimmer in the lights above as tears began to flood her eyes. My mood changed when I saw the sadness in her face.

"B-but . . .I had this weird feeling last night that something wasn't right . . .like something bad is gonna happen . . ." she stopped when she saw the skeptical look in my eyes. A determined expression crossed her face and she pouted her lips. "I know it sounds stupid, but this has happened before!" she said louder, as if I was slowly tuning out. The truth of the fact was, I was really curious over what she was saying.

"Oh yea? When?" I challenged her and crossed my arms over my chest in a daring sort of way and raised one eyebrow. Rikku smiled like she was hoping I was going to say that.

"Like when we had that pop quiz in math and we all failed, and the time when that bolt of lightning hit your house and knocked over a tree, and the time . . ." she paused and grinned even more in an evil way. " . . .the time when you and Riku went to the bar and—"

"OKAY, okay, okay! I believe you!" I cut her off abruptly, throwing my hands up in the air in defeat. Rikku seemed mighty satisfied with my answer and crossed her arms over her chest as well. I sighed and smiled.

"So you think something bad happened to Riku?" I asked her quietly, lowering my voice from being heard by our nosy geometry teacher. I glanced at him sideways, but he was busy shuffling papers on his desk and filing them. Rikku shook her head, sending her braids to fly everywhere.

"I think something bad is _gonna_ happen to him." She responded in an eerie sort of way, her eyes glinting. I smirked at her and turned and walked out of the classroom, leaving her behind. I heard her yelling things at me as I ignored her, but I blew it all away and headed towards my next class.

What's she thinking? Premonitions aren't true . . .especially for something so stupid as something "bad" happening to Riku. He seemed perfectly fine last time I saw him, which was at the fair last night. What could go wrong so suddenly?

I stopped walking as a bizarre thought crossed my mind. _What about when he left during Spring Break? He never told me the reason why. It could be something bad . . ._

I woke with a start as if somebody had been shaking me to wake me from my slumber. I had fallen asleep on the couch again. The T.V in front of me was still on with a guy doing stand up at low volume. The audience laughed along heartily, but I aimed the remote at the T.V and turned it off. An eerie silence greeted me and so did darkness as I slowly stood up, carrying my large popcorn bowl and empty soda can and turned to enter the kitchen. I almost had a heart attack when I came face-to-face with none other than Riku himself.

"RIKU! Wh-what are you doing here?" I stuttered out quickly, pressing one hand on my chest, trying to calm my pounding heart. Riku was looking the other way, a solemn expression on his beautiful face that seemed to glow in the darkness of my living room. I involuntarily blushed as I thought about what I was wearing which was an oversized white tee shirt and red polka-dot boxer shorts. My red hair was pulled back into a ponytail and probably looked like crap. He didn't seem to notice, nonetheless, look at me.

"I had to see you before I left . . ." he whispered softly, still not looking me in the eyes. I could see the hurt shining in his aqua eyes and a sudden sadness filled my heart. _What did he mean by 'before he left'? Where is he going?_

"Where are you going?" I asked him quietly, my voice breaking in fear. _Could Rikku have been right?_ Riku didn't answer me, but turned and walked towards the front door without another word. He opened the door and a cold breeze along with rain trickled into my house. It was pouring outside and in the darkness, I could see headlights of a car waiting on my driveway. He started to walk out of my house when he paused and turned around to face me, his face still filled with sorrow. I gasped out suddenly; realizing it was the same way he had looked that night in my dream during Spring Break when he disappeared into the rain. _Why is he leaving?_

"I have to go now . . ." he stated, the same words he had said in my dream. I couldn't bear it any longer; I let the tears fall from my eyes as I remained frozen on the spot like I had in my dream. I dropped the popcorn bowl and soda can and the bowl shattered into large pieces as popcorn spilled all around my feet. The soda can rolled over to him and stopped at his feet, but he didn't bother to pick it up. The continuous pouring of the rain outside seemed to set the mood to the way things were going. The tears spilled constantly out of my eyes and I couldn't hold them back. Even though I had no idea where he was going, I couldn't bear to let him leave.

"Why are you leaving? Where are you going?" I asked him, the questions spilling out of me being I could hold them back. Riku cast his eyes away from me and focused them on the door panel beside him.

"My parents are getting divorced and I'm moving away with my father off the island." He answered curtly, his voice monotone. Surprise gripped my throat as he said these words. _How long have his parents been fighting? He never told me that they were, but that could've been the reason for him leaving the summer home early. He's moving off the island . . .how far away? Will I ever see him again?_

I reached my hand out automatically as he turned his back on me and started to head out the door, and grabbed his shirt. He stopped walking and I rested my head on his back, letting the tears run down my face. I sobbed quietly into his shirt, holding onto the fabric tightly. He wouldn't turn around and embrace me like I was praying he would, he just stood there, as if waiting for my tears to be done. I didn't want him to leave. We never really had anything special, but it seemed like we would someday. Ever since I first saw him, I knew that I had liked him. Though I tried to deny every feeling in my body towards him, I knew it was true that I loved him. He used to be so pushy around me; constantly attempting to win my affection, but I played hard-to-get for the sport of watching him try again. And now he's leaving. I'll probably never see him again and I don't want that. I had been secretly planning out the many ways I could ask him out, but I could never do that now. Never again.

The horn of the car in my driveway honked impatiently, trying to hurry our goodbye. I felt him stir a tiny bit as if telling me to let go, but I didn't. I held on tighter, blowing off his father in the car and giving us a few more precious minutes to be in each other's company. Eventually, he turned around and I released my grip reluctantly to stare into his eyes.

"This is goodbye, Kairi." He announced softly, his eyes boring into mine. Panic bubbled up from deep inside of me and I took a step towards him. But he turned from me and walked down my front steps.

"So that's it?" I asked him, my voice harsh and louder than I meant it to sound. Riku didn't turn around to look at me, but stopped dead in his tracks. The tears that were spilling out of my eyes meshed in with the rain as I stepped over the threshold of my door and onto the first step. I could feel my shirt starting to soak and stick to my body and my hair fall out of its tie, but I didn't fix it. I was too focused on the only man in my life walking away from me.

"You're just gonna walk away from me like that? Like nothing ever happened?" I started in a low voice, sudden anger creeping inside of my body. My hands started to involuntarily shake as I glared hard at the back of his head, daring him to take another step away from me.

"Kairi . . .don't make this harder than what it should be . . ." he warned slowly under his breath, still not facing me. I could almost feel the frustration washing over me like the cold, relentless rain. I knew he didn't want to leave, despite his anger, and that he just wanted to act as if leaving me forever wouldn't effect him at all. I knew he was lying . . .I can see right through the glare . . .And still, my anger came through.

"How should it be, then?" I blurted out quickly, taking another step closer to him. He still didn't turn to face me. I wanted more than anything for him to look me in the eyes one last time . . .I want to remember the way your eyes captivate mine . . ."If there's another way to say goodbye to a person you truly care about, tell me now because I don't know!" the tears continued to run down my face as I spoke these words with a shaky and unsteady voice. I hated the tremor in my voice and I cursed it silently.

_Turn around and say 'I love you'!_ I could feel myself ordering him voicelessly. He didn't turn. He didn't say those words that were my comfort and need at the moment . . .instead, he took a few more steps out into the pouring rain towards the car with its' engine still humming on my driveway and opened the passenger door. I waited for his eyes to linger up to mine before he ducked inside, but they didn't. He just shut himself away from me and all the things we could have had in our lives without another word. And then, as if the nightmare couldn't have been more perfect, the car started to pull away from my driveway slowly. The glare from the headlights washed over me for a second and blinded my eyes as I continued to stare fixedly on the car leaving me, but I dared not to look away. If I look away now, it'll all be over.

"Riku . . ." I whispered softly, though I knew he couldn't hear me. For the briefest, wildest moment, I thought I saw his face through the rain-streaked window staring at me, but no, just a trick of the blinding lights. Rain rolled down my face along with my tears as I watched the only thing I ever loved pull out of my driveway and leave forever.

"YOU'RE RUINING EVERYTHING!" I suddenly screamed at the top of my lungs to make sure he heard me this time. The car seemed to pause in the process of moving away, but it must have been my imagination because the next moment, it was turning towards the road to speed away. Desperation and panic gripped my throat as I shouted once more into the night, praying constantly that he would hear my cries and stop the car and everything would be like the way it was before. "IF THIS IS HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE, _FINE_! GO AHEAD AND LEAVE! YOU'RE ONLY WALKING AWAY FROM YOUR PROBLEMS, YOU COWARD!" The anger rising and falling in my chest seemed to expand as I watched the car drive down the road, showing me its' red tail lights in the misty rain.

I punched my fist into doorway, though my body was shaking with sobs. It was as if a large balloon inside of my chest had deflated violently, leaving nothing but the memory of the happiness it once brought me. I felt alone under the darkened skies. Alone and cold and defeated. I have been defeated. It's all over now. Never again will I experience the joy a smile brought me. Never again will I experience the tingle a kiss brought me. Never again.

Then, a thought came to mind. _I can still catch him. _

_No._ I thought firmly as my eyes wandered over to my mother's abandoned car still parked in the driveway, looking inviting and reasonable. Driving would be easy . . .I've done it before on my uncle's farm . . .it can't be _that_ bad . . .

_No!_ That voice repeated again as I stepped back inside of my house to reach for the keys on the dresser. I paused with my hand in mid air and stared at the keys. They seemed to shine in the porch light outside, tempting me to do the thing on my mind. _What if this goes wrong? _The voice in the back of my head whispered frantically, trying every way to not let me go through with my wish. If is does go wrong, then tough shit. I smiled as I thought those last words. The smile on my lips felt foreign, like I've never smiled in that way before. My idea is crazy and ludicrous, but it might just work. Every second that passed me by meant the more distance that Riku's car was crossing. If I wanted to act, I had to act now.

My hand grabbed my cell phone lying next to the keys and then it snatched up the keys that jingled in my grasp as if congratulating me on a job well done. My feet and legs worked automatically as they slipped on some shoes near the door and continued past it back out in the rain. I found myself thanking anything that my mother wasn't home and was off visiting her friends and got a ride there, leaving her car behind. Little did she know that her only daughter was about to do something incredibly stupid.

I paused by the driver's seat and stared down at the door handle, begging to be tugged on. I watched the rain roll down across it and drip onto the pavement for another moment or so, and then lifted my face towards the window facing me. The reflection staring back at me did not look like Kairi. She looked deranged, sodden and raving. The stringy red hair falling out of the ponytail coming loose on the nape of her neck was clinging onto her neck protectively and framed her pale and grinning face.

I reached up and touched my cheek and watched in amazement how the girl in the window did the same thing. The skin under my fingertips was cold. Unbelievably cold. Colder than anything I have ever felt before in my life. It almost felt like the skin of a rotting corpse that had been in the arctic for about a week. My hand jerked away from my cheek and so did the girl's. Then, I grabbed the handle with a gorilla-like grip and yanked hard as the door flew open and hit my leg. I scurried inside as quickly as I could despite my throbbing leg and slammed the door shut.

Staring down at the ignition sent shivers up and down my spine. I never tried driving on my _own_, though I was due for receiving my permit in a few weeks, but it seemed easy enough. I had seen Selphie drive numerous times and it seems like all you have to do is shove the key in and turn it, press a pedal and turn a huge wheel. No big deal, right?

But my hands were shaking so much that just trying to get the keys in the little hole was hard enough. After I had missed about forty times, I finally got it in and turned it violently to the right. The engine hummed loudly and roared to life. The sound made me jump out of my skin and almost hit the roof of the car, but I calmed my already racing heart to it's original pounding pace and recklessly pulled out of the driveway, nearly missing the mailbox in the process. I paused the car for a moment and fumbled around for a button to turn on the headlights and found it after turning on the windshield wipers (which I left on), the fluid from the windshield wipers, the heat and the radio.

I sped off in the direction I remember his car heading, swerving dangerously on the road, my hands shaking so much it was hard to keep in control. My palms sweat on the black leather as I gripped the steering wheel and my ankle was protesting loudly to the force I was applying to my foot on the gas. It was a good thing there weren't any cars on the road, but it also wasn't that great. Where was he now? He could be miles away by now . . .I could've already missed him. I could be too late.

These thoughts only brought tears to my eyes and more pressure on the gas as I flew down the slippery road until, thankfully, taillights came into view. I couldn't judge the distance between my car and theirs, but I slowed down enough to not hit them at their legal pace. I recognized the shadows from the dashboard and groped beside me for my cell phone, the car swerving dangerously to the right all the while. I finally grabbed it and frantically punched the speed dial on what I hoped was his cell. There was silence at first and then a quiet ringing. I saw the shadow on the right in the car in front of me bend forward and out of site for a moment and then appear back in view.

As the ringing continued, I saw the silhouette turn around and look back at me, Riku's face pale and frightened. He must have seen my dark glare and turned back around, picking up the phone.

_"Turn back around NOW!"_ His voice warned quietly and I could tell it was through clenched teeth.

"NO! I'm not letting you leave!" I shouted back through the phone, the car speeding up by accidental anger, but I pressed the brakes in time. There was a long pause and then a loud sigh on the other end.

"You're making this difficult . . .Just go back home . . ."

"NO I WON'T! PULL OVER!" I screamed into the phone, actually taking it away from my ear to prevent myself from hearing an angry response. The car ahead of me didn't move off to the side, but seemed to pick up the speed a bit. I slammed on the accelerator and got too close to his car and had to swing off into the other lane to prevent myself from bumping into it. I put the phone back to my ear and heard him curse loudly.

_"GO HOME! JUST GO HOME!"_

"I DON'T WANT YOU TO LEAVE! I WON'T LET YOU!"

_"GO HOME! LEAVE ME ALONE!"_

"PULL THE FUCK OVER!"

_"I'M NOT STOPPING THIS CAR! GO HOME AND FORGET ABOUT ME!"_

"I'M NOT GOING HOME! I HAVE TO—"

_"FORGET ABOUT ME!"_

The line went dead.

* * *

K-c 


End file.
